Love Of A Cherry Blossom
by Ashi Ruby
Summary: Sasuke finally returns home to Konoha, but finds out the reason for his return has moved on--in fact, she's married! But who is this mysterious husband of Sakura's, and when he figures out who it is, will he try to break them apart? KabuSakuSasu.
1. Prologue: Sakura's Surprise

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Author's Note: Time for another KabuSakuSasu story! Why? Because there aren't many out there and I feel like it. Yep...well, that, and I had this idea in mind for awhile but I wasn't going to start it until I was finished with both Emerald Dreams and Into The Night (triple-story update, and four-story on Sundays? My brain needs a break too, even though I have to force it to do so).

But anyway, here's my second story dedicated to one of my favorite threesome pairings (gah, that sounded wrong XD)! And no, despite the related-like title, this has nothing to do with the previous Two Men and a Beautiful Cherry Blossom.

Love Of A Cherry Blossom

Prologue: Sakura's Surprise

"Any sign of her?"

"Not yet. Naruto-kun, calm down. She'll be back soon."

"I know, but still! It's been three years!"

"Oi, stop being so troublesome."

"Hey, don't say you're not anxious, Shika-kun!"

Neji sighed, shaking his head at the four adults he was sharing the early morning with. "Be quiet, all of you," he said, earning a glare from the blonde boy of the group. "You shut up Neji! I know you're just as excited to see her too!"

"Hn. I'm only here to make sure you keep your hands off Hinata."

"Neji-nii-san!"

"What was that!?"

"Guys, shut up and look!" Ino yelled, pointing out to the distance, "I see someone coming!" The others turned to the direction of the blonde woman's exclamation.

"Is it her, is it her?" Naruto asked impatiently, making Ino sigh. "How do I know? With the sun as low as it is, you can't tell," she replied. Shikamaru looked over at Hinata, "Why don't you activate your Byakugan and check for her chakra signature?"

"Wow, great idea! You're a genius Shikamaru!"

"Please tell me something I don't know. Troublesome..."

Hinata sighed and activated her bloodline trait, scanning the approaching shadows. "There's two people, but one of them is definitely her," Hinata said, almost falling backwards by Naruto's sudden excitement at the news.

"Yes! Finally, she's home! Sakura-chan's home!"

Ino quickly tried to grab the collar of Naruto's jacket, but failed and only fell herself. "Damn it, Naruto! No glomping her! Sheesh!" she yelled, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her shirt and overskirt, "Hinata, go and stop him! Geez, he's your boyfriend! Have some control over him, girl!"

The young Hinata only shook her head, "There's no stopping Naruto-kun when it comes to Sakura-chan. Best just follow him and make sure he doesn't get hurt." Shikamaru snickered while Neji smirked; they both have seen some of the damage Sakura has done to Naruto after a few impromptu attack-hugs.

Meanwhile, the two figures only walked in comfortable silence, staring ahead at the village coming into view.

"It's been three years...but I'm finally home."

"Welcome home then."

"It's going to be your home too, you know."

"Only because you're making it that way."

"Well, I'm certainly not going to live anywhere else!"

"Yes, yes, I know. Sorry, blossom."

Sakura only smiled, her attention suddenly turned back from her partner to the blonde calling her name. "Sakura-chan! About time you came home, 'tebayo!" Naruto yelled, latching on tightly and knocking down the pink hair woman. "Gah! Naruto! Okay, okay, get off!" Sakura yelled, happiness in her voice instead of anger as she tried to push him off of her.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Oi, Billboard Brow!"

"Hey Hinata-chan, Ino-pig! Oh, hey Shikamaru and Neji-san! Man, did everyone come to see me back? I didn't know I was going to be missed so much!"

Ino smiled at her friend before looking up at the silent, smirking person behind the rosette. "Hey, who's he, Sakura? I know Tsunade-sama sent you on a solo mission, so who's this guy?" she asked, all attention being brought to him instead of her.

"He has a Leaf headband, but I've never seen this guy before," Neji muttered, becoming very curious, "Who are you?" The man turned to the older Hyuuga, brushing a hand through his short and messy red hair before pushing up his thick-rimmed glasses, "My name is Kaburen Hatenku. It's nice to meet you all. I'm glad to meet the friends of my precious Sakura-chan."

"Yours!?"

Sakura laughed sheepishly at Naruto's outburst, rubbing the back of her head, "Well uh...Kaburen-kun is my..."

* * *

"HUSBAND!?"

Tsunade fell back in her chair at the surprising news. "Sakura, why didn't you tell me you got married!? I thought you trusted me enough to let me know these things!" she yelled at her apprentice, making the young woman sink further in her chair.

"I do trust you Tsunade-sama, but...well..."

"She wanted to tell you in person, not by a letter."

She looked up at the man holding the blossom's shoulders, then back to Sakura, whom only nodded in agreement. "I thought that...well, it would be better to say it to your face than in a letter," she said, looking down at her clasped hands. Tsunade only sighed again, "Well...I guess I can't blame you for that. But still, next time something big in your life happens like this, will you please tell me right away?"

Sakura only giggled and smiled. "Yes, Tsunade-sama," she replied.

* * *

"Ah! Finally feels good being home!" Sakura exclaimed, dropping her heavy knapsack on the couch and stretched up her arms, "I'm so glad Naruto and Ino-pig helped take care of this place. But hopefully they restocked the food, 'cause I don't think we want to mess with cleaning out cabinets and a fridge full of rotten food the moment we got back. Well, I got back, since they weren't expecting you."

Her husband only chuckled, dropping his bag next to hers. "As long as there are no tomatoes. I hate those things after having to suffer years of constantly eating them," he said. "Nope, none that I can see. But that doesn't mean we don't have tomato soup. I'm not a fan of tomatoes either, but I just love tomato soup," Sakura said, exploring the kitchen quickly before going back to the living room.

Her attention went to a stand against the left wall, and she sighed. "Just how I left it," she said, approaching the stand. Her fingers graced over the two picture frames upon it, "I'm home, Mom and Dad. Looks like they made sure to light the incense for you whenever they could. I'm sorry I wasn't here to do it myself."

"Do you always talk to picture frames?"

"It's the best I got to talking to them."

"I don't think I'll ever understand the different quirks people do with departed love ones."

"Well, that's probably because all that time with Lord Pedophile warped your mind into thinking that stuff like this is frivolous and stupid and who knows what else."

"Oh, now that was a little cold, Sakura-chan."

She only smirked at her husband, watching as his form changed. Short red hair becoming long and silver and his glasses were replaced by thinner frames. "Ah, better. I can actually see now," he said, "I hate those fake frames you're making me wear."

"Well, it's better than having you recognized, isn't it? Tsunade-sama, Ino, and Shikamaru have great memories, so I think they could figure out who you were even by the smallest detail of your glasses, Kabuto-kun."

The former Sound spy only smirked at her, "I doubt that, Sakura-chan. After all, I'm very good at disguises." Her lips formed a small smile as she connected them with his, "Mmhmm. Keep telling yourself that."

* * *

Very very evil, Sakura-chan! But hey, when you're married to the ex-right hand man of a very dangerous criminal, what else can you do? Anyway, the first chapter will be up soon, so until then ja ne! 


	2. The Teme's Back!

Author's Note: To make it a bit easier on easily confused minds, when Kabuto is not alone with Sakura, his name is Kaburen, but when he's alone with her, then he's Kabuto. Does that help? Hopefully it does. Anyway, here's the first chapter!

Chapter 1: The Teme's Back!

"Chunin level, huh?"

"From what I've been told. I've never officially taken an exam."

"I see."

Tsunade rested her chin on her folded hands, staring at the red haired man before her. "That headband...it was a gift then, yes?" she asked, earning a nod. She sighed, processing the information through, then finally pulled out a scroll from a drawer. "I'll bend the rules just this once. In half a year, you'll take the Jonin exams. After all, I don't think you need more bruising on your pride with your wife ranking higher than you," she said with a small smirk as she handed him the scroll, "For now, I'll send you on a D-Rank mission. Bring this scroll to the teahouse in the next village; someone will meet you there for it."

Kaburen smirked and nodded his head, "Yes, Godaime. And don't worry about my pride; I fear I lost that when Sakura-chan kicked my ass on our second meeting."

* * *

"About damn time you returned."

"Hn. Shut it, dobe."

"Heh, same old teme," Naruto said, smiling at the raven haired adult before him, "You know, many people in this village missed you. It's going to be relieving to see that you're alive and all right, especially since the last bit of news we heard about you was you killing Orochimaru."

Sasuke only smirked, "I don't care about the village itself. The only people that I'm going to try and care about are my teammates, minus whoever that replacement guy is." Naruto continued to smile, placing his hands behind his head, "Well, c'mon. Let's go see Tsunade-baa-chan."

* * *

"Sakura-san! Kakashi-san!"

The pair turned their heads from their lunch to the approaching figure of Shizune. "Hmm? Shizune-san? Is something the matter?" the silver haired jonin asked. "You've both been summoned to Tsunade-sama's office. Sasuke Uchiha has returned," the woman explained, a bit breathless from her run.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Well, well...that's a surprise."

Kakashi took out his wallet and placed some money on the counter, "Well, come on Sakura. Let's not keep our teammate waiting."

* * *

"You know you have a lot of nerve coming back here, Uchiha. Especially after what you did."

"Hn."

"Were you ever taught respect for your elders, boy?"

"...Sorry, Tsunade-sama."

"Good," Tsunade replied, glaring at the Uchiha before turning her gaze to Naruto. "You do know that either you or Kakashi will have to watch him, correct?" He nodded, "Yep. I'm sure we'll just switch off; I have Hinata-chan to take care of, you know."

"Oh, you finally realized it?"

"Years ago. Have to thank Sakura-chan and Neji for that."

"Hn."

The door to the office opened at that point, revealing the three new arrivals to the group. "I found them, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said, closing the door behind them as they entered.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei. Sakura."

"Hello again, Sasuke. It's been so long, hasn't it?"

"Hn."

Emerald and onyx met in silence. "Sakura," Sasuke repeated, a thin black brow raised in a bit of hidden confusion; he had to admit, he was half-expecting the woman to hug him and probably bring him to the ground in the process.

He wasn't expecting the punch in the face.

"That was for leaving in the first damn place, and leaving me on that freaking bench in the middle of the night," Sakura said in a seethed breath, but then smiled and knelt down beside him, placing a gentle kiss on the bruising cheek, "But that's for coming back. Welcome home, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto and Tsunade smiled, Kakashi chuckled, and Sasuke smirked at the moment that just passed. "All right," Sasuke said, "I believe I deserved that. Damn, Sakura...did you have to hit that hard though?" She huffed playfully, "You've been gone for over six years. I think I went easy on you." _'That was going easy?'_ he thought, a bit bewildered at his female teammate.

Suddenly a knock came on the door, forcing Tsunade's attention to it instead of the people before her. "Come in," she called.

"I'm looking for Hatenku-sama," came the voice of a young nurse from the hospital, "Her husband is looking for her. He's a bit hurt." "...You've got to be kidding me. I send him on a D-Rank mission and he gets hurt?" Tsunade asked, sighing deeply as she went to grab a cup for her sake.

Sakura sighed, "I'll be there in a moment. Oi...A D-Rank mission?"

"To think, I'm letting him take the Jonin exams in six months."

"What!? Okay...we got some serious training to do...and some explanation is needed later, Tsunade-sama," Sakura said with aspiration in her voice, "Well, I guess I'll see you all later. Bye guys. Oh, and let's all have lunch tomorrow, okay? We need to catch up!"

"We sure do," Sasuke muttered under his breath, waiting for Sakura to leave before speaking louder. Once the door was shut behind her, he turned towards the others, "Information please."

"Well, uh..." Naruto said sheepishly, trailing off. Sasuke glared, "Why did Sakura react to the name Hatenku? Her last name is Haruno." The blonde man began to laugh slightly, "Well...it was. But Sakura-chan's name changed when she got married."

"And when did this happen?" the Uchiha asked.

"Sometime when Sakura was gone on her three year mission. We just found out a week ago when she came back," Kakashi explained. "His name is Kaburen Hatenku. I guess his grandparents used to live here in the village years ago, but then moved away after the birth of their son, Kaburen's father. Then he decided to come back after marrying Sakura. Other than that, we don't know much about him," Shizune said, "But we never really had the chance to talk to him. He and Sakura have been busy with getting used to life here in the village again."

Sasuke was silent, inwardly keeping down that bit of anger and jealousy he felt for whoever this Kaburen was. _'Whoever this guy is, we are going to have to have a little talk,'_ he thought, his thoughts broken by the loud voice of his best friend.

* * *

"A D-Rank mission. A simple D-Rank mission, and you get hurt because you couldn't dodge a freaking bar stool. And you didn't heal yourself why?"

"Chance to see you at work."

"That's quite pathetic."

Kabuto smirked as he chuckled, bringing a gentle hand to caress Sakura's cheek, "So?" Her lips pursed as she started to pout very slightly. "You're an idiot, you know that. But you're my idiot, so I guess I just have to deal with that, don't I?" she asked playfully. He only continued to smirk at her before leaning in to capture her lips.

"Always, blossom."

* * *

Ah, it was so much fun inflicting pain on Sasuke! But I did make it a little better; after all, I can't be too mean to him (he is one of my favorite guys).

And yes, I know, how the heck did Kabuto get hit with a bar stool? Let's say he was a little blind. Yeah...I had some fun, can't you tell? Anyway, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	3. Sasuke and Kaburen

Chapter 2: Sasuke and Kaburen

"Sakura-nee-chan! You're finally back!"

She turned around to meet almost eye-to-eye with Konohamaru, and she smiled brightly, "Wow, you've grown a lot!" The sixteen-year-old boy beamed at the woman, "It's amazing how much can change in three years, huh? I found out today that you got married. Congrats!"

"Hehe, thank you! Hey, want to go and get something to eat? I want to hear about your training and such."

"Sure! Ramen?"

"Heh, why not? Come on, mini-Naruto."

"Hey! I'm not completely like the boss!"

"Suuuure you're not!"

"Sakura-nee-chan!"

* * *

"Hmm? Oh, hey Sakura-chan! Hey Konohamaru!"

"Hey Tenten. That's odd seeing you here. I didn't think you really liked ramen."

"I'm waiting for Neji-kun and Lee-kun. They said they would meet me here."

Sakura smiled as she sat down next to the weapons mistress, Konohamaru taking the seat next to her. "One miso ramen and one beef ramen," he ordered, looking over at Sakura, "Right?" She smiled and nodded, "You actually remembered my favorite flavor."

"For awhile after you left, Naruto and Konohamaru would only order miso ramen," Tenten said, taking a bite of the bowl of ramen she ordered, "Everyone was pretty sad for a little while when you left, you know." Sakura sighed, "Yeah, I know. But sadly, Suna and Iwa needed me, so I had to go. Besides, it's not like I could reject Tsunade-sama's orders."

"True, but either way, we're just happy that you're back though, Sakura-nee-chan," the young boy said, turning his attention to the bowl of ramen placed in front of him, "Sweet! Well, come on, let's eat!" Sakura and Tenten laughed at the overly-excited boy as he dove into his lunch. "Yeah, you're not a mini-Naruto," the blossom said, shaking her head with a smile.

"Who's a mini-Naruto?"

"I didn't know I had a mini-me!"

Tenten laughed, Sakura sighed, and Konohamaru stared with noodles still dripping from his mouth at the two new arrivals at the stand. "Hey Naruto. Hey Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted, "Let me guess. Judging by your annoyed face Sasuke-kun, Naruto forced you here."

"Hn."

"Hey, I asked you if you wanted to get something to eat!"

"And I said tomatoes."

"Tomatoes isn't a lunch."

"It is for me."

Sakura smiled and sighed, "Same old Naruto and Sasuke-kun. Nothing much has changed between you two." Her teammates grinned (or smirked, in Sasuke's case) at her before sitting down and ordering their lunch.

"Where's Kaburen?" Naruto asked out of curiousity.

"Mission. I'm hoping that I don't get called back to the hospital because he got hurt again on a D-Rank mission," Sakura explained, a small sigh in her voice.

"And he's supposed to take the Jonin exams," Sasuke stated, a little annoyed at the fact.

Tenten tilted her head slightly, "Really? He's going to take the Jonin exams?" Sakura nodded her head, "Yeah. Kaburen-kun's at a technical Chunin level, so Tsunade-sama thought it would be all right for him to take the Jonin exams." Sasuke only scoffed, "Yet he got hurt on a D-Rank mission. During the exams, he'll probably--"

"Don't even dare finish that sentence!"

All attention turned to the pink haired woman, emerald eyes glaring fiercely at the Uchiha. "Don't ever think about saying that again, especially in front of me. I believe I know my husband far better than you, Uchiha," she said, her fists balled tight in keeping her anger only in words and looks instead of actions. Silence overtook them all for a few moments before Sasuke finally muttered an apology.

Sakura let out an annoyed sigh before taking out her wallet and placing down some money on the counter. "That should pay for my bowl and yours, Konohamaru. We'll get together another time to talk, okay?" she said with a smile.

"Sure. Bye Sakura-nee-chan!" Konohamaru said, waving at the woman as she made her other good byes and walked away.

Once out of eye and earshot, Tenten turned and glared at the stoic Uchiha, "What the hell is wrong with you? How could you even think about saying that!? Do you really think Sakura wants to think about her husband dying during the Jonin exams? Idiot!" Sasuke said nothing, but only sighed and placed some money on the counter to pay for his lunch, although he didn't eat much.

"Hn. Sorry."

Without another word, he stood up, placed his hands in his pockets, and walked away in the direction the pink haired woman took only a few minutes ago.

* * *

"Ugh! I can't believe him! He actually was going to say—ugh!" Sakura yelled in annoyance, slamming the door to her bedroom shut, "He's so lucky that the others were around or else I would've kicked his ass! How dare he...ack!" She sighed and shook her head, forcing herself to calm down.

_'Just calm down, Sakura. You don't want to stress yourself out too much. You still have a shift at the hospital tonight, and the evening shift is a mess,'_ she thought as she dug through her closet, trying to find a shirt that she could still wear. "A warm shower will do the trick, I'm sure," she muttered aloud to herself, holding up a baby blue top and smiling.

It quickly faded with a knock on the front door. She groaned and stood up, tossing the shirt on the bed as she did.

Within a few moments, she was at the front door, revealing a slightly annoyed/slightly sympathetic Uchiha. "Ugh...what do you want?" Sakura asked, voice annoyed.

"Hn. Do you always treat guests this way?"

"...Come in."

She closed the door behind him as he entered, hands in his pockets in normal fashion as he looked around the room. "You know...I wasn't expecting guests," she said, "Especially those who decided that it was perfectly all right to insult someone else's spouse."

_'Way to force out the hint,' _Sasuke thought, turning to face her emerald-meet-onyx.

"I'm sorry about what I said."

"I see."

"I mean it, Sakura. I shouldn't have said that."

"No you shouldn't have," Sakura said, but she smiled very slightly, "But it's all right. I forgive you. Anyway, tomatoes and tea?" Sasuke smirked, "My favorite."

Sakura's head perked up at the sound of the front door opening. "Kaburen-kun, you're home," she said sweetly, standing up from the couch and going to the door. He smirked, "Easy mission. At least this one didn't involve bar stools." He placed a gentle kiss on his wife's cheek, much to the hidden disgust of the visiting Uchiha, then looked up and smirked. "You didn't tell me we had guests coming over today," he said.

"Oh, sorry! Kaburen-kun, this is my friend and teammate, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Ah, the infamous Sasuke Uchiha? I heard a lot about you."

"Hn. Same about you, Kaburen."

Sasuke stared into the green eyes of the other man, a bit of jealousy and annoyance hidden behind the dark, onyx orbs. _'This guy...this is the guy that Sakura decided to marry? There's nothing about special about him,'_ he thought, _'So why him?'_

Acting oblivious to the look that Sasuke was giving him, Kaburen held out his hand and smiled, "It's nice to finally meet you, Sasuke-kun." In respect the Uchiha took the outstretched hand, "The same to you." Sakura smiled brightly, "I knew you two would get along. Hey, maybe during the Jonin exams, you two can work together, since I heard that Tsunade-sama might let you take them, Sasuke-kun."

_'Me with him?'_

"That would be interesting, ne Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

With a lingering glare on the other man, the Uchiha turned his attention to Sakura. "I should be going. The dobe is probably looking for me. Thank you for the lunch," he said. Sakura only nodded and smiled, "No problem. See you later, Sasuke-kun." "Good bye, Sasuke-kun," Kaburen said, earning only a grunt and a nod from the Uchiha.

As soon as Sasuke disappeared from the room, the door shut behind him, Kabuto let down his facade and turned towards Sakura. "I believe that Sasuke-kun is a little jealous," he said, his lips tugged in a smirk. Sakura sighed and brushed a hand through her short, pink hair. "I had that feeling. But sadly for him, he's too late. I've found someone else," she said.

He chuckled, moving in a little closer and cupping her cheek, "And I have no plans on letting you go." Sakura smiled, "Of course, Kabuto-kun. Besides, do you think I would let him try and take me away from you? Hell, I wanted to punch him for wanting to say that you could die during the Jonin exams. I mean, yeah, it's a possibility, but even then--"

Her words were cut off by a pair of hungry lips.

_'Okay...I'll take this as a "shut up Sakura" moment.'

* * *

_

They say a little competition never hurts, but I think that this might be a little painful. Well, uh...have fun Sasuke!

Well, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	4. A Bit Of Interrogation

Author's Note: This is going to be a little more of a filler chapter than anything, mainly because this explains a bit of Kabuto and Sakura's past and how they got together. Hey, got to get some of the past story out there.

Chapter 3: A Bit Of Interrogation

"Okay Sakura...time for a girl gab session. And I think you know what we want to talk about."

"...Why are you doing this?"

"It's been three weeks since you came home, and I think now it's time we all had a little talk about you and your hubby."

Sakura sighed, rubbing her temples. "Why did I let you four force me here?" she asked, "I rather being doing laundry and housework than this." Ino and Tenten only grinned with a bit of hidden intent, while Shizune smiled and Hinata shrugged her shoulders innocently. The rosette sighed again, taking a quick sip of tea, then finally spoke, "Get it out of the way."

"How did you meet Kaburen?" Tenten asked almost instantly.

"When did you fall in love with him?" Ino asked, hands together excitedly.

"What is he really like?" Shizune asked curiously.

"Um...what they asked," Hinata only replied, a little sheepish about diving into Sakura's personal life.

Sakura glared at her friends and superiors, _'This is why I hate gab sessions.'_ "All right, all right. Calm down a bit," she said aloud, taking another sip of tea, "Fine. I met Kaburen-kun on my way to Iwa for the last half of my mission. We were both ambushed by the same group of renegade ninja, so basically we had "you save my ass, I save yours" agreement. Then we parted, but met again a few months later in Iwa. And bascially over time, we fell in love, then finally about seven months ago, we got married."

"Aww, you're holding back on us!" Shizune said playfully. Sakura only stuck out her tongue, "I don't feel like sharing everything, you know."

"Well, it's not like we were asking you how he was in bed."

"Ino-pig! That's just wrong!"

"Even I wasn't going that far."

Hinata's cheeks turned a dark red and Tenten coughed on her tea. Sakura moved her cup away and sighed, turning her attention to the window.

_'I hate gab sessions.'

* * *

_

"_You know...this is hilarious."_

"_I don't see how you figure that."_

"_You're stuck upside down in a tree, caught by vines and branches, while I'm standing here just fine. That's beyond humorous, but I'm sure it's all humiliation for you."_

"_...You're lucky I'm currently stuck, Sakura-san."_

"_It's not like you could do anything either way, Kabuto-san."_

_The two medics glared at each other, one with a scowl and the other with a smirk, contemplating over the situation they found themselves in. "Do you think you can let me down now?" he asked, getting annoyed by the rosette's obvious entertainment in the issue. She tapped her chin thoughtfully and smiled, "Hmm...nah. It's more fun to see you like this."_

"_Sakura-san..."_

"_Threatening me won't help you."_

"_...Could you let me down?"_

_Sakura smirked, "What's the magic word?" He glared at her, his eyes clearing saying "hell no." "What, does saying please hurt what little pride you have for yourself?Or did Lord Pedophile never taught you manners?" she asked, voice smug and way too playful._

"_Sakura-san, let me down now."_

"_Hmm?"_

"_...Please."_

"_Good boy," she said, pulling out a kunai and took a few steps forward. "I'm not a freaking dog," he replied, becoming increasingly angrier at the woman before him. "You're not? Could've fooled me," she replied, laughing as she watched the silver haired man try and glare holes into her._

"_When did you become so cocky?"_

"_When did you become such a klutz?"_

_She stopped a couple of steps in front of him and knelt down enough to meet his eyes directly, her lips straight and serious, "Consider this thanks for healing me those years ago." She stood up straighter, hands going to the vines and grabbing them tightly to run the kunai over them. For a moment, he stared at her, trying to figure out what she said, but in a moment it came and he could only give a small nod._

_Within a few minutes, they found themselves sitting side-by-side by the tree, Kabuto holding his aching head while Sakura cleaned the stains off of her kunai. "Ugh...I suppose a thank you is in order," he muttered. She sighed and put her kunai away, "The debt is repaid. You helped me, I helped you. No thanks is needed; don't embarrass your pride further." With that said, she stood up, slung her knapsack back over her shoulders, "Goodbye Kabuto-san. Let's hope our paths don't cross again."_

_He only watched her walk away, then sighed despite himself and focused some light chakra in his fingers, healing the migraine that sadly being caught in the tree gave him._

"Oi, Forehead!"

Sakura's head turned back quickly to face the cerulean orbs, "What?" "You've been spacing out for like the past five minutes. What's up?" Ino asked, her gossiping side becoming dominant. The others at the table looked curiously, and Sakura only sighed. "I was thinking about what I'm going to make for dinner tonight," she said, making Ino's lips form a frown.

"You spaced out over cooking? How lame!"

"Shut up Ino-pig."

* * *

"_Looks like we meet again."_

"_Oh, joy. Just what my day needed. First a rainstorm, followed by monsoon winds, and now I'm stuck in this old shack whatever-it-is with you."_

_Kabuto only chuckled, taking a sip of the lukewarm tea he managed to make. "Well, you could always walk in the rain," he said, motioning for her to sit beside him. She glared and slowly made her way towards him, "No way in hell. I hate the rain. I'd rather sit and sip tea with the enemy than be out there right now." _

"_Well, it looks like that's the plan."_

"_Mmhmm."_

_Silence overtook the pair as he poured her a small cup of the tea, listening to the rain fall on the wood-and-stone roof. She nodded in thanks as the cup came to place in her hands, taking a sip of it and sighing lightly. "I hope it ends soon," she whispered softly, staring out at the window at the grey sky._

"_For one that hates rain, you stare at it a lot."_

"_...It's good for hiding in."_

"_Hmm?" he questioned, a thin silver brow raised in curiosity. She didn't turn to him; her eyes remained on the sight outside, bringing the cup of tea to her lips again for a quick drink. "When you're sad or depressed...the rain is a good mask. You know why?" she asked. "I wouldn't know," the other medic responded, shrugging his shoulders, "I see rain as a weather pattern, just something natural that happens in nature."_

"_No one can tell if you're crying when it's raining. It's the perfect mask...the perfect deception."_

_He stared at her as she drank the last bit of tea in the small cup, then turned her head to stare at the empty container. "Masks. Deception. The reasons I hate lies. The rain lies," she said too softly, almost unheard._

_He was still silent, but then picked up the small pot and poured her another cup, a bit of smirk perking his lips. "I rather like the rain," he said._

"_You're a spy. Spies usually like to tell lies."_

"_Rain brings people together, doesn't it?"_

_Emerald looked up curiously, then looked down at the cup, "...Thanks."_

Sakura sighed through a little smile, holding up the umbrella Shizune let her borrow. _'How much of a hypocrite am I? But hey...hopefully you're home Kabuto-kun. Then we can spend the rest of this deceptive day together,'_ she thought, then shifted over to thoughts of tea and teriyaki chicken.

* * *

Tsunade quickly scratched down the names onto the scroll, then handed it off to Shizune, "Give this to the sentry downstairs." She nodded and quickly disappeared, closing the door behind her.

The blonde sighed and pulled out her cup and flask of sake. "Preparing people for exams is so annoying," she muttered, taking a sip of her prized alcohol.

"But hopefully, in about five months now, we'll have Sasuke Uchiha and Kaburen Hatenku as new Jonin."

* * *

So we see a little bit into the past and a hint for the future. As for the rest...well, that comes later.

I got a little inspiration for the first flashback in this chapter, which came from Marin M's KabuSaku story Sedative. Which, if you haven't read that yet, you should! It's an awesome fic.

And now, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	5. Rivalry

Chapter 4: Rivalry

"Well, Sasuke, be lucky. I've came to the decision to allow you to take the Jonin exams in five months," Tsunade explained, leaning her chin on her intertwined fingers. Sasuke nodded his head, but remained quiet and inwardly thankful. "In five months, you'll be joined by two other teammates, so please learn to get along with them between now and then," she continued.

"Teammates?"

"Yes. Did you actually think you're doing this on your own?"

"Yeah."

Tsunade sighed, "You may be an Uchiha, but you're not invincible. Now your teammates should be coming in any moment so I can brief all three of you on the exams." He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and looked over at the door in annoyance.

"You really have no patience, do you?"

"Hn."

"And no manners. Be lucky, boy, that I'm even allowing you to participate in this exam."

"...Thank you."

"Better," the blonde replied, taking a sip of a secret cup of sake before hiding it at the sound of a knock on the door, "Come in."

The door opened to reveal first a shy woman, midnight blue hair tied into pigtails and dark brown eyes uneasy about stepping into the office. "Um...y-you sent for me, Lady Hokage-sama?" she asked timidly. "Yes, come in. Don't be so scared," Tsunade replied with a small, comforting laugh. The woman smiled, entering fully and leaving the door open for the second person to enter.

Sasuke's onyx eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of a familiar red haired man entering the office.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Narie Takimari, and Kaburen Hatenku, the three of you will be participating in the Jonin exams as the team from Konoha."

* * *

"Do...do you think it will be as bad as Lady Hokage-sama says?"

"Hn. Getting afraid already?"

"N-no! I'm not afraid! I'm just a little...nervous."

Kaburen looked down at the smaller woman and smiled, "Don't worry about it, Narie-san. You have Sasuke-kun and I on your team, and I promise we won't let harm come to you." Sasuke scoffed, "Speak for yourself."

"P-please don't fight."

"Don't mind him. Sasuke-kun's not very great at showing that he cares."

The Uchiha glared hard, "What the hell do you know about me?" Kaburen only smirked, "Much, thanks to Sakura-chan."

"S-sakura-chan? You both know Sakura-chan?"

"Hn. She's my teammate and his wife," Sasuke replied, the final words coming out like venom. Narie's eyes lit up, "She's the reason why I decided to try to take the Jonin exams. She gave me the courage to try and get up a higher level, even though no one else thought so. She said that she could tell that I'm going to be one of Konoha's best kunoichi someday."

"She's good at picking out talent."

"Hn. Whatever. Let's just go and train already."

"Impatient as usual?"

"Shut it, Hatenku."

* * *

"Wow...you two are strong!"

"You're not so bad yourself, Narie-san. Sakura-chan was right about you."

Sasuke only glared, "Stop flirting Hatenku, and focus on training." "Flirting? It's encouragement, Sasuke-kun. I'm happily married, thank you very much," Kaburen said, a small smirk lighting his lips, "Please tell me that you can tell a difference."

"I don't give a shit, but I'm getting annoyed by the constant interruption for you to give "encouragement" to this girl that's already stronger than Sakura was when she was twelve."

"Um...I'm a woman, not a girl, Sasuke-san, and I'd like to be treated as one...if y-you could, please..."

"Fine, woman."

"Thank you...and I don't think I can believe that. Sakura-chan is the strongest kunoichi I've ever met, next to Lady Hokage-sama, and--"

"Trust me, you're stronger," Sasuke said, "And I hope you can pull your weight better than she did back then." Narie nodded her head, "O-of course! I'm not going to be a burden!" Kaburen smiled at him, but inwardly glared at the Uchiha.

_'Believe it or not, Sasuke-kun,'_ Kabuto thought beneath his guise, _'Sakura-chan was far stronger than you back then. Just leave it up to no one to really discover it.'

* * *

_

"My brother is probably wondering where I am," Narie muttered, "He wasn't expecting me to stay out so late. Um...see you both next week. And please say hello to Sakura-chan for me." "I will. Good night, Narie-san," Kaburen said, while Sasuke only nodded his head.

"So, Sasuke-kun. Would you like to join Sakura-chan and I for dinner?" Kaburen offered, turning towards the stoic Uchiha. He only glared, "Just because we're on the same team and that you are Sakura's husband, don't count on us becoming friends." Some of the words came out bitter and easily told, and Kaburen only sighed through a bit of a smirk.

"Never dreamed of it. I only offered out of kindness."

"Keep your kindness to yourself, Hatenku."

Sasuke began to walk away, towards the Uchiha compound, leaving Kaburen standing there in the middle of the street.

"You know, Sakura-chan is right. You are a cold, lonely man with a little heart."

Almost in an instant, the red haired man found the point of a kunai at his neck and a pair of Sharigan eyes staring at him. "Don't speak of me as if you know me, no matter what you may hear from Sakura," he growled, voice low and serious, "And be thankful for her that I'm not going to hurt you the way I wish to." With that finally said, he let down his Sharigan, placing the kunai back in his holster, and turned away, walking back to the Uchiha compound in a faster speed than he had before.

* * *

Ooo...Sasuke and Kabuto aren't getting along too well. Uh-oh, I sense a bit of trouble in the future...

A few notes about this chapter:

1 – Narie Takimari is actually a character from the novel I'm writing called The New Dragoness. I thought that I would use and manipulate her character a bit for this story since in my novel she doesn't have much of a role.

2 – When I mention Sakura being stronger than Sasuke, I was meaning in the sense of spirit because, to me, Sakura has the most spirit and heart out of any of the characters in the show. So I decided to use that as a inward counterpoint to Sasuke's statement. Yeah...you know what I mean.

Well, anyway, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	6. Punch

Author's Note: There is a time skip between this chapter and the last. The Jonin exams are now two months away.

Chapter 5: Punch

"Narie-chan, don't be afraid of hitting me," Sakura said, "Pretend I'm an enemy shinobi instead of your friend, and attack me with all you got."

"But...Sakura-chan..."

"You can't be this scared during the exams; the Jonin exams are ten times harder than the Chunin exams."

"I'm not scared! I just...don't want to hurt you."

Sakura only laughed, "I'm a medic-nin. Whatever damage happens to me I can heal." Narie only nodded, her dark brown eyes looking away but then back with a flash of determination. "All right then, Sakura-chan...here I come!" she called, forming a few hand signs to prepare a jutsu.

* * *

"I'm glad that my little sister is taking the exams, actually. She'll be the first in our family to become a Jonin then," Marco said, bringing in the tray of drinks in with his free hand while still balancing himself on his crutch, "And I know she'll pass. She is the pride of the Takimari family." Kaburen stood up quickly and grabbed the tray, "Here, I'll get that...Narie-san is a very talented kunoichi. I don't think I've seen so much young talent in a person since I met Sakura-chan."

"Yes...Narie has always gave it her all to try and be the best. For awhile though, after I was injured, I thought she was going to give up and stay as a Chunin, but then Sakura-san came along and convinced her otherwise. Your wife is a great nurse and a great influence on my sister."

"Yes, Narie-san often mentions about how Sakura-chan convinced her to take the Jonin exams and how she sees her as an idol. I bet training like this is an honor."

"Heh, she is often busy, but I'm glad that she had the time today to train with Narie after checking up on me."

Marco took a sip of the tea as he looked out the window, watching as his sister made another attack on Sakura, "I hope that she passes. But then again...with teammates like you and Sasuke-san, I'm sure it'll be hard for her to lose, won't it?" Kaburen only chuckled as he took a drink of his own tea, "We'll make sure she does her best."

* * *

"All right...that's enough for today," Sakura said, her breathing heavy and tired. Narie nodded her head, then sighed and sat down on the grass, brushing a hand through her hair that had fallen from her pigtails.

"You're...a tough opponent, Sakura-chan...but that's good practice...for the exams," Narie said admiringly through deep breaths, "Will you...train with me again...next week?"

"Yeah, I will, when I check in on your brother...but for now, how about we go and get the guys and go out for lunch?"

"All right, I like that idea. Thank you."

Sakura helped the young woman stand up, then looked up at the window, "Hey! Kaburen-kun, Marco-san! Do you two want to go and get something to eat?" "Was yelling really necessary?" Narie asked, a little sarcasm lit in her usually quiet voice.

"Nope. Just more fun."

Inside Kaburen only sighed, "She really loves to yell." Marco laughed, "Yes, Sakura-san, that will be lovely!"

* * *

"Stop staring at Tenten, Hyuuga. We're supposed to be training."

"I have the right to stare at my fiancée, Uchiha."

"You said that you would help me with training for the exams. Staring at women is not part of the training."

Neji only smirked, "I'll make sure to remind you of that if I catch you staring at a woman when we are training."

"Hn. I wouldn't allow myself to get distracted by a woman."

Tenten sighed, "Guys, train your fists, not your mouths. And Neji-kun, stop staring at me. Just because I'm reading doesn't mean I can't see what you're doing." Neji glared and Sasuke smirked, finding a bit of victory in the form of "you got told."

She looked away from the two men, and smiled when she saw some familiar figures in a small crowd. "Hey! Sakura-chan, Kaburen-san!"

"Oh! Hey, Tenten!"

"Hello Tenten-san. How are you today?"

"Besides dealing with a fiancée that won't stop staring at me and an Uchiha who's just plain cranky, things are fine."

"I'm not freaking cranky," Sasuke muttered, crossing his arms over his chest in a huff. "Aww, Sasuke-kun's pouting! How cute!" Sakura squealed. Marco and Tenten laughed, Kaburen and Neji chuckled, and Narie only looked away with a little smile as the Uchiha glaring annoyingly at his rosette friend.

"Anyway...hey, why don't you guys join us?" Sakura offered, "We're going over to Leaf Cafe for lunch." Tenten's lips curled up into a grateful smile, "I'd like that, even if the guys don't want to go. But, what do you two think?"

"No."

"Hn. I'll go."

"...Hyuuga."

Sakura only laughed, "Pouting again?" "I'm not freaking pouting," the Uchiha growled, picking up a few dropped shuriken and placing them in his bag.

* * *

"Why do you always enjoy the crowds?"

"Hey, it's lunch time. What, did you expect the place not to be crowded?"

"Hn."

Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes at her raven haired teammate. "You didn't have to come with us. You could've gone and trained by yourself," she said with aspiration, looking back down at the menu. "I won't get stronger that way," he said simply, crossing his arms over his chest and stared at the back of the laminated page in her hands.

Kaburen only smirked, "Is that are you really care about, Sasuke-kun? You really should take a break; you've been training non-stop for the past three weeks, and that's not healthy." "What I do is none of your concern," the Uchiha replied coldly, his eyes now turned to glare at the man sitting beside the rosette.

"B-but he does have a point, Sasuke-san...you...you have been training rather hard lately."

"You shouldn't complain about that, Narie. You've been benefiting from it."

"Y-yes, but..."

"You should relax for once," Kaburen added, "Enjoy the day off like I am." Sasuke glared at him again, "I'm not like you, Hatenku."

"Kaburen. Call him by his name, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said with slight irritation, peering up over the menu for a moment to glare, but then returned to it. Narie scooted a little closer to her brother in reaction to the tenseness that surrounded the table while Neji, Tenten, and Marco stared at the scene before them.

"I don't mind if he calls me by my last name, Sakura-chan."

"Well, I do. You do have a name."

"Yes, we all know that, but don't start getting all up in arms over it."

He smirked at his wife, "It's a lot better for all of us when you're happy instead of getting angry." Tenten laughed at that, "Kaburen-san, that was a little mean." "Very mean," Sakura added with a bit of pout, but then kissed her husband's cheek gently before ducking back to look at the menu.

Sasuke scoffed, "Get a room." Kaburen turned his attention to the Uchiha, eyes playful. "Maybe we will later," he said, causing the rosette (and Narie, in her innocent nature) to blush a deep red while the others chuckled.

All except Sasuke, who looked disgusted on top of being angry and, inwardly, jealous. "Let's hurry up and eat already. Then I want our team to practice. Including you, Hatenku," he said, ignoring the glare that Sakura was giving him.

"Sasuke-kun, as much as I would love to, I took the day off to relax and spend time with Sakura-chan, so we'll have to train--"

"We are training after we eat."

"Bossy, aren't we?"

"Don't push me, Hatenku."

"Both of you, stop it," Sakura said, putting down the menu. However, it went unheard as the two men continued to stare at each other, one holding a bit of a smirk while the other was angry with eyes waiting to turn blood red. "Uchiha, Kaburen-san, enough. This is a public restaurant," Neji said firmly.

"Y-yes...please don't fight," Narie said softly, moving now to try and gently restrain the angered Sasuke. With a small growl, Sasuke moved his arm to escape the touch, "Fine, whatever. Let's just eat."

* * *

"I can't believe you two! You two are supposed to work together, not kill each other!"

"Hn."

"Sorry, blossom."

"Don't think using pet names will make things better, Kaburen-kun," Sakura said warningly, placing her hands on her hips, "Now both of you better start learning how to get along. There's two months left until the Jonin exams, and you two will need to work as a team with each other, not just individually with Narie-chan."

Sasuke scoffed and turned away, "I don't need his help with the exams. I can pass on my own." Sakura glared, "Will you stop being such an ass and just listen to me for once? Jeez...I don't want you getting hurt out there, Sasuke-kun."

"Why bother being concerned about me?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

Kaburen smirked, "Oh, I see...you're jealous, aren't you Sasuke-kun?" Quickly Sasuke turned around, "What?"

"You're jealous of Sakura-chan and I."

Sasuke didn't say a word, but his eyes flashed a quick shade of red that the redhead managed to catch. "I believe I hit the nail on the head. I believe I've caught on now. You came back in hopes that you and Sakura-chan will make amends, but then you found out about me, and--"

He was never able to finish speaking before Sasuke's fist came into contact with his face, knocking him down to the dirt below.

"Kaburen-kun!" Sakura called, kneeling down beside him and gently touching his bruising cheek, "Are you all right?" With a cough and a bit of smile, he wiped a bit of blood from his lip, "All right...I believe I deserved that one in some ways."

The rosette turned her attention to Sasuke, "What the hell is wrong with you!? Why did you go off and punch him like that!?" He didn't say a word and proceeded to walk away.

There was really no need for explanation. Kaburen's words was the reason.

Because he was right. Sasuke Uchiha was jealous.

* * *

The tension! Eep! Can't take it!

Hehe...anyway, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	7. Talk

Author's Note: This is once again a filler chapter before we get to the better action.

Chapter 6: Talk

"Ugh! I can't believe him! He had no right to punch you like that!" Sakura yelled as she closed the front door and turned back to the couch, bringing a bit of healing chakra to her hand to heal the bruise on Kabuto's cheek, "And then I'm sure he still insists on you going and training just for the chance to hit you again! Ack!"

"Sakura-chan..."

"Gah, why is he being such a jerk!? You haven't done anything to him and yet look at how he's acting!"

"_Sakura-chan."_

"Gah! He's being such a bastard!"

Kabuto sighed and tuned out his ranting wife as she finished healing his cheek and began to walk away towards the kitchen. "Sakura-chan, you're ranting again," he said, standing up and entering the kitchen, however ignored he was.

"The next time I see him, I might just have to--"

"You won't do anything, blossom," he said, wrapping his arms calmly around her waist, "You're just going to calm down." Emerald glared at onyx for a moment before relaxing, "All right...I'm still pissed at him though."

He only chuckled as he nuzzled his face into her neck, "Yes, but why let it get to you? Let Sasuke-kun have his little temper tantrum. He's just jealous over the fact that I have such a beautiful flower in my arms."

* * *

"Um...Sasuke-san?"

The Uchiha looked up from the attack dummy to meet the brown eyes of his teammate, "Narie. What do you want?" She folded her hands together in front of her, "Well, I was wondering if...you would want to train with me. I don't know if I'll be a great opponent on my own, but...if you really want to train with someone, I'm willing to be your partner."

He stared at her for a moment before sighing, "All right. Come at me with all you got. And don't expect me to go easy on you. Hatenku isn't here to keep control over our training." Narie smiled softly with a nod, then began to form a few hand signs.

An hour later, they both found themselves on the ground, tired and out of breath. "I think we'll call it a day," Sasuke said through a few deep breaths, "You're almost drained of chakra."

"Yes...I guess I haven't gotten over my training with Sakura-chan today..."

"Hn."

Narie lightly smiled and looked up at the sky, "Sasuke-san?"

"Hm?"

"What was Sakura-chan like in the past? When you were genin?"

"She was annoying, weak, and clingy," he said quickly, but then paused to find the better words to say, "But...she was kind, smart, and extremely determined to make sure she wasn't a burden to anyone." He laid back on the grass, hands behind his head, "She was the link that kept me from hurting Naruto so many times. Since she did it for me."

"Naruto-san often told me of the times Sakura-chan would hit him. Was he really that bad?"

"He was about as annoying as Sakura. To tell the truth, I couldn't stand either of them. Although now I'm glad to have both of them as my friends and comrades."

Narie chuckled slightly, wrapping her arms around her bended knees. She looked over at her raven haired teammate, a slight frown now gracing her lips.

"You really don't like Kaburen-san, do you?"

"Hm?"

"At the cafe...you were ready to kill him, and I saw you punch him earlier this afternoon."

She turned to face the Uchiha, hands folded on her lap, "Are you really jealous of Kaburen-san?" He glared at her, "What business is it of yours, Narie? Don't start getting into things that are none of your concern."

Brown eyes widened and she turned her head, a bit nervous and frightened of the onyx that stared at her. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-san! I didn't mean...I just...wanted to know why you two didn't get along and..." she said, but drifted off as her hands gripped slightly to one another. Sasuke sighed as he sat up, running a hand through his hair with a slight cringe.

"I've liked Sakura since our genin days. However, I was too blind by my ambitions to really realize that and I hurt her, left her alone. That feeling only grew. Then I come back and hear that she's married and moved on..."

Narie sighed, "You love her and you're jealous of the man that took her away from you." She stood up, hands now resting on her hips, "That's really sad, Sasuke-san. You shouldn't hold it against Kaburen-san that Sakura-chan fell in love with him. It's her heart and her choice, and it's almost like you're criticizing her for her choice by how you're treating her husband."

Onyx stared in surprise at the bold woman before him, but then calmed as he watched her actions change. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Sasuke-san," she said, sitting back down and looked away from him. Silence overcame the two before Sasuke finally stood up and sighed, holding out his hand to help the woman up to her feet.

"Stop using the honorifics. It's starting to get annoying. Come on, let's get you back home. We'll train more tomorrow, with Hatenku or not."

Narie nodded, taking his hand with hers and lightly giving herself a push up, "All right Sasuke." He smirked slightly, glad to be rid of the suffix, and released her hand and took a few steps ahead of her. She began to speak, but he didn't really pay attention.

He became a little busy thinking of other things, mainly those dealing with pink haired blossoms and redhead annoyances.

_'Sakura was mine first...and I don't have much intention on letting her go anytime soon. But for now, to keep you from ranting, I'll pretend to give what you said much thought,'_ he thought, looking over at Narie before turning back towards the path before him.

* * *

Yeah...a useless filler chapter, but I thought it would be better to get this out of the way before we get into the better action. Besides, we get to see a bit more of Narie and Sasuke's interaction with each other. Yes, there is going to be a little bit of SasuOC in this story, but mostly in a friendship-like way and not much of it at that.

But an explanation from the last chapter that I didn't explain: Marco is another character from my novel. Although he is a more important character in the novel than Narie is, I decided to give him a little more spotlight.

Well, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	8. Blossom

Author's Note: This chapter takes place the day before the Jonin exams begin. Time for a little, teeny-tiny bit more drama! Also some more of Kabuto and Sakura's past, so enjoy!

Chapter 7: Blossom

"I think...that should be it for today," Narie said through a bit of a heavy breath, "We should get some early rest. Tomorrow is the big day." Kaburen nodded his head, running a hand through his sweaty red locks, "I agree. And I believe I shall take a page out of Nurse Haruno's book and follow her examples for relaxation."

"Nurse Haruno's book?"

"Sakura-chan wrote a small book of her ways of relaxing, and called it that, so I will as well."

"I've heard of this book from the dobe. And which page do you suggest?"

Kaburen smiled at his Uchiha teammate, "The baths and a home-cooked meal. What else?"

* * *

"Uh, love, could you have warned me before you decided you're going to have guests over? I don't have anything out to make dinner for four people!"

Kabuto smirked at the sound of his wife's exclamation. "Well, then I guess I'll have to bring home something after our bath."

"Kabuto-kun," she said in a hushed anger, "I'm not a freaking housewife!" He continued to smirk as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Just for tonight? Please?" Sakura sighed, giving him a gentle push, "Fine. But only because tomorrow's the exams!" Kabuto only chuckled as he replaced his disguise and quickly grabbed the items he needed for the bath.

"I'm still not a freaking housewife," she muttered under her breath as she dug through her cabinets for one of her mother's old cookbooks, but she smiled despite her obvious anger, "But for tonight, I'll let it slide."

* * *

"About time you showed up!" Narie exclaimed when she saw the face of her teammate, "I hope you didn't mind me inviting Marco-nii-san; Sakura-chan has said that sometimes trips to the hot baths are good for his leg."

Kaburen shook his head, "Not at all. Hello Marco-san."

"Hello Kaburen-san."

"Did you manage to convince Sakura to cook a meal?" Sasuke asked with a smirk, slightly interested; he knew how much Sakura hated playing housewife. Kaburen smiled, "Of course. As for what, I have no idea. When I left, she was still looking through cabinets for cookbooks."

"And you didn't get hurt?" Marco asked with a bit of a laugh, also knowing about Sakura's hatred towards the role.

"Nah. Why would she hurt her own husband?"

"You'd be amazed."

"Well, I don't know about you three, but I'm off to the baths," Narie said, finishing tying back her hair into a bun behind her head.

* * *

"Hello Marco-san! Well, uh...I wasn't expecting five people today," Sakura said with a small mutter, directing a glare to her playing-innocent husband, "But anyway...make yourself at home! Kaburen-kun, could you help me in the kitchen?"

"Have fun," Marco whispered while Sasuke smirked and followed Narie into the living room, while Kaburen only sighed and followed the glaring rosette.

"Not my fault. Narie-san said the bath is good for him, according to you."

"Yes, I know that. But once again, could've warned me."

"I didn't know until I got to the baths."

"Mmhmm," she said with a small smile, handing him a tray, "Hopefully you two got along."

"We were. Until Sai and Yamato-san decided they wanted to come in."

Sakura hushed her husband up there, "If this is going to lead to a conversation of who is bigger, I don't want to hear it." She placed five glasses on the tray, each filled with still-warm lemon tea she had just made.

"I still say I won," Sasuke said confidently from the living room.

"Ack! I said I don't want to hear it!"

* * *

The night went on, the meal long gone and relaxation set in. Narie and Marco left in the early part of the evening, wanting to get rest before the big day, leaving only Kaburen, Sakura, and Sasuke alone in the little apartment.

"You know...you two should be getting to bed. It's almost midnight, and the exams start at 8:30. You both need sleep," Sakura said, taking notice of the clock at last, "Hell, I need sleep, and I don't even have hard tests coming up."

"You're right. And being as late as it is, Sasuke-kun, would you like to stay here and we will head out in the morning?" Kaburen offered, earning a small glare from Sakura. Oblivious to it, Sasuke only shrugged his shoulders, "Hn, whatever." Sakura sighed through curved lips, "All right. Well, I'll go and grab some blankets for you. Be back in a moment."

_'I was hoping for some alone time...'

* * *

_

Sakura couldn't fall asleep. She looked over at the clock on her nightstand; 3:47. Her eyes looked over at Kabuto, and she smiled when she saw the comfort on his sleeping face.

_'In some ways, I'm jealous. I really want to sleep,'_ she thought, then the smile turned into a frown as she brushed a hand through his silver bangs, _'But...I'm worried about tomorrow. In so many ways...I wish you wouldn't take the exams.' _With a bit of a sigh, she stood up and put on a robe over her nightgown.

_'I don't want to ever risk losing you.'

* * *

_

In the living room, Sasuke was also restless and unable to sleep, finding the ceiling to be more relaxing to look at than the back of his eyelids. Multitudes of thoughts rang through his head, but only to stop when he heard echoing footsteps down the hall, followed by dimly-lit pink hair.

"Sakura?"

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Hn. What are you doing up so late?"

"I can't seem to get to sleep, so I thought that a cup of warm tea with milk will help."

"Sounds like a good idea."

Sakura only smiled, taking the subtle hint. "Enough for two then," she muttered softly under her breath and proceeded to find the items she needed.

Silence enveloped the kitchen and living room, save the sounds of Sakura's findings and the tick-tock of the kitchen's clock. The rosette paid attention to the tea while the Uchiha went back and forth from staring at her, the ceiling, and then her again.

Finally, he decided to speak.

"Sakura?"

"Hmm? Yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"When did you fall in love with Kaburen?"

The question almost made Sakura drop her glass. "T-that was random," she said softly, regaining her composer, "Why do you ask?" Sasuke didn't answer and she only sighed.

"I guess it was when I was in Iwa, and we met up there. It started innocently, just grabbing lunch and such. But then those innocent outings turned to dates, and after a few months, we both realized that we were in love. And...well, the rest is history, as the saying goes."

She heard the steam from her teapot echo the kitchen and she rushed to turn off the flame. As she inwardly sighed, Sasuke watched her as she brought out the milk.

* * *

"_Sakura."_

_The rosette turned around quickly to see the silver-haired medic that always seems to enjoy interrupting her alone time. Not that she didn't mind that anymore, of course; she actually welcomed it on many occasions. Ever since that rainy day in the shack, she's found herself wanting his company, especially on those lonely, cloudy days over Iwa._

_Little did she know that he, too, wanted the same._

"_Hello, Kabuto-san," she said through a bit of a smile as he sat down beside her, and almost laughed as he let out a tiresome sigh, "What brings you here today?"_

"_I could ask the same of you."_

"_I always come here during my breaks from work."_

"_And I always come here, it seems, whenever you are here."_

_Sakura only chuckled, "Ass. You really like avoiding questions." He only smirked at her then looked up at the sky. "You know...it's going to rain soon," he said. Sakura looked up, then lowered her head and stared straight ahead._

"_I know."_

"_I thought you hated the rain."_

"_I do. I just..."_

_He turned and watched as she folded her knees to meet her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them. "Could you...just leave me alone today, Kabuto-san?" she asked, not even bothering to look at him. His lips formed a frown, "You're hiding something." She was silent._

_His hand reached out and touched her shoulder. He had to admit, this was beyond his character, but his heart felt something for the rosette. Something...foreign, unfamiliar._

_Care? Oh, yes, he knew that. Love? Maybe so._

"_Sakura...tell me."_

"_It's nothing. It's something I'll get over. Right now, I just want to be alone."_

"_I know better than that."_

_She looked over at him, and almost in a moment he was surprised by the emotion that were sparking tears in those emerald eyes._

_Fear. Rejection. Hurt._

"_You wouldn't understand."_

"_Try me."_

"_...You have no idea."_

_She shrugged his hand away from her shoulder and stood up, deciding it would best for her to leave if he wasn't. However, she didn't get far before his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop. "You have no idea if I do or not," he said firmly, not letting the subject drop._

_Not until he found out what was making, dare he say, his blossom upset._

_Silence came upon them as the rain started to fall._

_Kabuto felt her wrist shake and his ears heard the painfully quiet sobs. She turned her head and locked view of emerald and onyx._

_Sakura was crying._

_In almost an instant, she found herself wrapped in his arms, listening to the rushing heartbeat in his chest. "Sakura...stop that," he said, "Don't be a hypocrite." He tired his best to sound cold, but sadly his voice was too warm to Sakura's ears, and her sobs became a little louder._

"_I'm already a hypocrite...I told myself that I wouldn't let this happen to me again...not after what Sasuke-kun did to me."_

"_What?"_

"_I told myself...I wouldn't fall in love again...but yet here I am, head over heels in love and I can't tell myself to stop."_

_His arms wrapped a little tighter around her, but in many ways it was in jealousy; he was jealous of whoever she was in love with._

_Because he wanted it to be him. For the first time in his life, he wanted love and he wanted that special person to be her._

"_Why don't you tell him?" he asked bitterly. "I can't...we won't be able to be together, even if I did," the rosette replied, "He's...an enemy of mine." Kabuto's eyes widened ever slightly at those words and felt those emerald eyes staring up at him._

"_I can't be..."_

_His hand went to her cheek and tilted her chin upward more, "My blossom."_

"_I can't be in love with--"_

_Her words were cut off by a firm and hungry kiss, and her eyes were wide in shock as she realized what was going on. However, she smiled and relaxed, returning the affection with as much feeling as he put in._

_After all, a kiss in the rain is often considered one of the most romantic things in the world._

"Sakura."

She broke out her memory daydream at the sound of her name. "Oh...sorry, Sasuke-kun. I spaced out," she said. "Obviously," he said dryly, finishing his tea. Sakura did the same and stood up from the table they sat at, taking their cups to the sink.

"That actually hit the spot, ne Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn."

Sakura sighed through curved lips, "Some things will never change. Well, I think I'll head back to bed. You best get some sleep as well. The exams are only a few hours away now." He nodded and watched her start to retreat down the hall.

"Good night, blossom."

Her steps stilled and her hand rested on the wall in support due to the darkness of the place.

"Don't...call me that. Only Kaburen-kun is allowed to call me that."

She started her steps again, not noticing the amused smirk on Sasuke's lips as he fell back on the couch.

* * *

Whew, a nice, long chapter to make up for my lack of updates. Sadly, I lost track of thought of where this chapter was going (except for the ending), so I stopped working on this and did some other things. But now I finally finished this, so here you go!

Until the next chapter, ja ne!


	9. The Exams Begin

Author's Note: Sorry for this delay! Recently I was banned on YouTube thanks to my AMVs, so I was trying my best to get my new account up and running again...just without most of my videos. -sigh- Stupid TV Tokyo. Plus, I got addicted to getting out some of the other stories going around in my head. But it's back to work on LOACB!

I'd like to dedicate this to my loyal reviewers that have been patient and waited for this latest update. Hope you all like it!

Sorry if this seems short, but now it's time for the Jonin exams!

Chapter 8: The Exams Begin

When Sakura woke up the next morning, it was in an empty bed with the scent of frying bacon filling the room. _'Kabuto-kun must be making breakfast...and a disaster hasn't happen yet?' _she thought with a bit of a laugh, pulling on her robe as she stood up from the bed.

She followed the smell of the bacon to the kitchen and almost went into stitches at the sight of her husband in her lilac apron. "Grease and I don't get along," he said with a bit of blush on his cheeks, "If it weren't for that, I wouldn't wear this ugly thing."

"Hey! Ino gave that to me!"

"Hence furthermore the word ugly."

"That was mean," Sakura replied, lightly hitting him in the arm before going to make her early morning cup of tea. Kabuto only smirked as he turned off the flame, "Your point is?" She only smiled and placed a quick kiss on his lips, "What am I ever going to do with you?"

"Well, I do have some ideas--"

"Not going there."

"You asked."

"It was rhetoric. Anyway...where's Sasuke-kun? Did he go home?"

"He was gone when I woke up. A good thing; I need some of the extra energy, and the disguise can take up a good amount of chakra," he said, preparing the rest of their breakfast, "Sadly, with the exams I won't be at my best, but still I'll do well." Sakura was silent, trying her best not to get upset at that bit of known information and preferred to stare at the pot for the water to steam.

"I'll be fine, Sakura-chan."

"I know..."

He sighed as he brushed a hand through her pink hair, "I'll be fine. I promise." She smiled back at him, her attention half-divided between him and the pot. "Yes, I know. With Sasuke-kun and Narie on your team, and your advanced abilities, you'll do well," she said, "Still, it's natural for a wife to worry about her husband."

"It's also natural for a wife and her husband to participate in other activities."

And suddenly breakfast and tea seemed so unimportant.

* * *

"Kaburen-san and Sakura-chan are late. Man, they better not be taking a page out of Kakashi-sensei's excuse book!" Naruto exclaimed. Narie and Hinata sighed through smiles, Sasuke stayed silent, and Marco chuckled at the yell their future Hokage gave. "I'm sure they will be here soon," Marco said, leaning on his crutch as he repositioned himself against the bridge's rail.

"They probably woke up late. Remember, Sakura-chan's not much for alarm clocks," Hinata remarked, remembering one time years ago where she watched a younger Sakura smash a clock into pieces for going off. _'And Tenten wasn't too happy to have a piece of broken clock hit her in the head,'_ she added herself as she outwardly shook her head.

"Maybe they are at home busy doing marriage things," Sai popped in, only just coming into the conversation. "Sai!" Naruto yelled, hitting him in the arm, "You don't go and say stuff like that!" Narie promptly blushed and Hinata only sighed as she tried to restrain her slightly-enraged boyfriend (with some help from Marco's crutch).

Sasuke was quiet throughout the entire event, preferring to stay in silence than participate. Inwardly, he was growing impatient at the lateness of the missing two to their little party, and his anger began to increase with the unexpected arrival of Sai and his comment. He didn't want to think about the things that the two were possibly doing. Having perverted thoughts about his teammate's relationship with her husband was something Uchihas never want to think about.

Unless they involved him and the cherry blossom.

He was broken from his reclusive shell by a hand on his shoulder. "Sasuke-san, aren't you nervous by the exams?" Narie asked, "You've been very quiet today, and by now I thought you would've hit Sai-san for being a...pervert." Somehow Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle at the woman's struggle for the right word, "Interesting stall. But no, I'm not nervous. It's nothing I can't handle." She smiled, removing her hand from his shoulder as she leaned against the rail.

"I am a little bit. But it's only natural. I mean, this is a big step for me. If I pass, I'll be the first Jonin in my family, and that's a major accomplishment."

"Hn."

"Hey! Kaburen-san, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled, noticing the approaching figures, "You two are late! Did you decide to pull a Kakashi-sensei on us?" Sakura only gave a sheepish laugh, "Sorry Naruto. We woke up and ate breakfast late." Kaburen only smirked, "Nice excuse."

"Kaburen-kun!"

"Told you."

"Shut up Sai!"

Narie only looked away, "Um...can we just go to the exam site? Now?" Sakura nodded, "Yeah. You three need to get going or else you'll be late." She gave a hug to each Narie and Sasuke (much to his enjoyment), "Good luck you two. Come back safely."

As Naruto, Marco, and Sai bid their well-wishes and farewells, the blossom turned to her husband and wrapped her arms tightly around him, "Be careful."

With a chuckle he kissed her lips, the affection tender and his voice a whisper, "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"You know what I mean."

"I know. But as I told you before, I'm very good at disguises."

She smiled and kissed him again, unaware of a pair of onyx eyes watching them.

_'Disguises?' _

Uh-oh, it seems someone is getting suspicious. Be careful Kabuto, your secret is in danger!

Anyway, enjoy this update! I'll try and get the next chapter out soon; just need to piece together all the ideas.


	10. Months Apart

Author's Note: Being that we don't know what the Jonin exams are like, I'm making it up. Yeah...it works.

Chapter 9: Months Apart

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay over, Sakura-chan? Cause you know I would in a heartbeat. Shika-kun wouldn't mind; he understands how much you don't like to be alone," Ino offered one last time as Sakura stood up to leave. The rosette only smiled, "I'll be all right. It'll just take a bit of getting used to, that's all. I knew it was coming."

"Yeah, but still...if you ever want me to come over, you best pick up that phone and call me!"

"Hehe, I will. Well, I got to go to work. See you later Ino-pig."

* * *

"Welcome to Konoha, all visiting ninja from our neighboring villages. Now that everyone has arrived, I will start to explain the rules and course for the Jonin exams," Tsunade said, motioning for Shizune to come forward.

"The Jonin exams will be taken over the next two months. The first task will be making it through the challenges set up by Konoha. These include the Forest of Death and Hokai Mountains. The next task will be in Suna, where the Kazekage has set up an obstacle course of sorts to pass through. The third task will be in Iwa, where you must face the challenge of passing through the Dunes of Delagal. Finally, you must make it back here within the two month time period. If you are late, then you will fail the exams and will be unable to take the exams for two more years."

Shizune held up three scrolls, handing them to Tsunade before falling back. "In each village, you must obtain one of these scrolls. You'll each gain one here, then receive one at the end of each challenge in Suna and Iwa. Unlike in the Chunin exams, each person will have the exact same scroll, so fighting one another for a scroll would not only be stupid, but it will be a waste of your time as you try to confront the challenges," the Godaime explained, handing the scrolls back to Shizune.

"Of course, combat may be necessary if push comes to shove. Is there any questions as of now?"

As the questions began to be answered, Sasuke took the time to look around at the competition around him. _'Looks like each hidden village sent one team to the exams. Mist, Suna, and Iwa have two teams, I see. Hn...competition is going to be tough, isn't it?'_ he thought with a bit of a smirk before turning to his teammates.

Kaburen stood silent, eyes straightforward as he listened intently to Tsunade's answers. Narie, on the other hand, held a bit of nervousness and fright in her eyes. _'This is going to be so difficult...can we really make it through? Sakura-chan told me how hard Kazekage-sama's course was, and how she saw several dead shinobi before the end of the course,'_ she thought, her legs starting to shake slightly.

"Narie."

Her head shot up quickly to stare at her teammate. "Stop shaking," Sasuke said, turning his attention away from her then. She continued to stare at him for a moment before gulping quickly and forcing her legs to be still. _'I need to be brave for this. I can't be a burden for the team...I have to do this. For Marco-nii-san and my family,'_ she thought, clenching her hands into fists for a moment before relaxing them.

Kaburen, now paying attention to his teammates, and Sasuke only smirked as they watched Narie's character turn 360, her nervousness now changed to determination.

"All right, well," Tsunade said, "if that's all the questions, then let the exams begin!"

* * *

Sakura sighed as she tried to find a way to pass the hours by until the night. _'It's so empty in here. I got so used to Kabuto-kun's presence in here that it's weird to be alone,'_ she thought, picking up a few of the books that were left on the coffee table, _'And I would take up on the offer to have Ino stay over, but I don't want her snooping around, since she always has the nose for it.'_

She smiled as she turned to the stand where her parents' photos rested, "I guess it's just us for now until Kabuto-kun comes back home. And I hope you'll be just as proud of him as I will be when he becomes a Jonin."

* * *

"Let's take a ten minute break," Kaburen said, panting heavily as he rested against the trunk of a large tree, "I'm already getting exhausted. I'm not used to doing all this traveling anymore." Sasuke grunted in disapproval while Narie let out a sigh of gratefulness. "I see it's a two-against-one vote," the Uchiha muttered as he followed suit and sat down beside the tree. Kaburen only smirked as he turned his head up towards the sky.

"How long do you think it will take to get out of here?" Narie asked, "I've never been through the Forest of Death in its entirety before." "Nor have we, so we all have the same question," Sasuke replied, resting an arm on a bended knee, "After this break of ours, we'll start going again and probably won't stop until sundown."

"All right."

"Okay, leader."

Sasuke looked over at his red-haired teammate with a smirk, _'Damn straight.'_

* * *

Sakura looked out the bedroom window, chin rested on her hand as her other hand held a photograph on her lap. _'The day's not even done, and yet it feels like forever...these two months are going to go by so slow,'_ she thought, staring out at the setting sun over the Hokage's mountain.

She looked down at the photo, one of the few she had of them together whenever he wasn't in disguise. She smiled as she ran her fingers over the photo, then over the band that graced her left ring finger, _'At least you'll still be here in someway or another, huh Kabuto-kun?' _She turned her head back to the window and sighed as she continued to watch the sun go down.

* * *

"_The sunset is always beautiful."_

"_Yeah, it is, huh?"_

_Sakura sighed as she rested her head against her lover's shoulder and smiled when she felt his arms wrap around her waist. "In Konoha, after my training, Shizune and I always took some time to watch the sunset, and we always watched it until it completely disappeared, and sometimes spent the night laying back and trying to find constellations in the sky," she said, watching as the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon. "I've never really took the time to watch the sunset, although I did find myself counting stars a few times," Kabuto replied as he rested his chin on her head._

"_Well, I guess we'll just have to do it more often."_

"_Mmhmm."_

_Sakura smiled as she felt Kabuto's fingers play with her own, "And spend some time staring up at the stars. There seems to be more of them here in Iwa than in Konoha. Maybe because there are less trees and forest here."_

"_Sound had its fair share of forest, but there are always ways to get around them. Just need to know the right path."_

"_True."_

_His hand stopped playing with hers and his arms loosened from around her waist, causing her to look up a little confused. "Is something wrong, Kabuto-kun?" she asked. He only smirked, "No, nothing is wrong. Everything is perfect."_

"_Are you sure...?"_

"_Yeah. Look, the sun is almost gone."_

_Her attention went back to the sunset as it finished its last push down past the horizon, the dark indigo of night overtaking the sky. "Beautiful, isn't it?" he whispered in her ear, a lone finger running over her left hand, making a careful circle around the left ring finger._

"_Yeah..." she whispered back, lowering her head to stare at their hands in her lap._

_That's when her emerald eyes widened at the sight of a silver band with a small diamond in the middle of an engraved cherry blossom. "It tooks me awhile, but I managed to get the perfect one," he whispered, "A blossom for my blossom."_

_She looked up at him, eyes sparkling in surprise, "Kabuto-kun...did you just...propose to me?" He only smirked, "Only if you take it that way." She smiled brightly as her lips connected with his._

"_You're a little sneak."_

"_Yes, but I'm your little sneak, Sakura Yakushi."_

"Kaburen-san."

The redhead perked up the sound of Narie's voice, looking away from the ring on his finger. "Get some rest. I'll take the first watch tonight; I got plenty of sleep last night and I can easily see that you're wiped out," she said softly, taking her place beside him.

He only smiled, "All right. Then I guess I'll get the second watch?" Narie nodded her head, "Yeah. Get some good sleep."

"I'll try. You don't know how hard it is knowing that the one you love isn't beside you."

"Not yet, but I'm sure I will someday."

"Heh...night Narie-san."

"Good night."

* * *

Kabuto is a sneak isn't he? Well, yay for cute ways to propose!

Well, I have a treat for all you readers: check out my story 100 Sentences. I have some mini-spoilers for this story in there, and if you want to know a tiny bit of what's in store, check it out.

Anyway, until the next chapter, ja ne!


	11. A Secret Slowly Revealed

Author's Note: Now that I'm done with another one-shot, it's time for the next chapter of LOACB!

Chapter 10: A Secret Slowly Revealing

"Sakura, are you okay?"

The rosette medic turned her head to the voice, "Hey Shizune. And yeah, I'm fine. Just an overload of work, that's all. With Kaburen-kun, Sasuke-kun, and Narie-chan away, I've been trying to come up with anything to keep myself busy."

"Yeah. It's been about two weeks since they left right?"

"Two weeks, four days, and ten hours."

"...You really miss them don't you?"

"More than you know. I actually hate going to bed and knowing that my husband's not there. The house seems so lonely," Sakura replied, writing a few notes down on her clipboard, "But it's all right. I know that soon they'll be back and then I'll have Kaburen-kun by my side again." Shizune smiled at the young woman, "True. Well, come on. Let's go and get some lunch. My treat."

* * *

"It's been a little over two weeks since the exam began, and it'll take another day or two to reach Suna, maybe less if we travel throughout the night," Kaburen remarked, taking a bottle of water from Narie's hand. "That is if we don't get any setbacks as well," Sasuke added.

"I rather rest at night...Sakura-chan has always said that, no matter what, getting a little sleep is good for keeping chakra up. Especially for you, Kaburen. I've notice you lose chakra quicker than Sasuke and I," Narie noted, her eyes turning towards her teammate. With a bit of a laugh, Kaburen muttered, "I guess I don't get all the sleep I should. I spend a lot of time just laying on the ground awake."

As their female teammate started her scolding, Sasuke stared off into the distance, his thoughts focused on something else.

'We aren't going that fast, and I know that Hatenkun isn't that slow, so there's no reason for using chakra to keep up. And even with a lack of sleep, his chakra has lasted much longer during training than it has been during the exam.'

Onyx eyes turned quickly towards the other male, watching him as he dealt with Narie's continuing lecture.

_'Disguises...What would he try to hide?'_

* * *

"Sakura! Sakura, are you all right?" Shizune yelled, rushing after the rosette as she ran quickly to the bathroom. Sounds of gagging echo the small bathroom's walls, making the older medic cringe. "Sakura, I'm coming in," she spoke to the door as she opened it.

The rosette looked up, her breath heavy and her face paled. "Are you all right? What's wrong?" Shizune asked, crouching down beside her. "I'm all right...this has been happening for a little while now; I probably just have a little virus. But I guess you're going to tell me to go home and rest, right?" Sakura responded with a weak smile.

"Well, of course. As a medic yourself, you should've known better. And after I pay for our food, I'm escorting you straight home."

"All right, all right."

As Sakura stood up and headed for the door, Shizune stared at her with concern.

_'I think it's more than a virus.'_

* * *

Ooo, Sasuke is getting suspicious and Shizune thinks that there's something more behind Sakura's sudden illness. What will this mean for our couple? Just wait and see! Ja ne!


	12. Surprises

Chapter 11: Surprises

"Sakura? Are you okay in there?" Ino called, hearing strange, choking sounds coming from the bathroom. "Yeah...I'm fine!" the rosette yelled back, only to be echoed by another disgusting sound. The blonde opened the door and walked in, noticing her best friend standing up while wiping her mouth. "Are you feeling okay? You've been throwing up a lot lately, and that's not a good thing," Ino said, hands on her hips as her blue orbs watched Sakura walk out of the room.

"I'm fine. It must just be a virus that's hanging on."

"For going on two weeks?"

"I guess. I'm fine; you don't need to--"

Ino tsked as she grabbed her friend's wrist and her key to the house, "I'm taking you to see Tsunade-sama. It helps to get a second opinion."

* * *

"Damn...did he really have to make this that freaking hard?" Sasuke muttered, outstepping another sand trap the Kazekage had set up. Narie took in deep breaths, "It's been...a week since we...started this, and already...we saw three teams either give up...or died trying to pass through." Kaburen didn't say a word as he tried to dodge a trap he accidentally tripped.

"The exams are so much harder than Sakura-chan made it out to be," the redhead said, trying his best to keep up with the faster Uchiha, "Please tell me that sometime soon there will be a place to rest." "I have no idea. The Sharigan isn't something used for seeing into distances unlike the Byakugan," Sasuke replied, "As useful as that would be right now regrettably."

"Sasuke, Kaburen! Help!"

The two men turned around to notice their teammate stuck in a trap, struggling to get out to little avail. With the quickest steps he could, Sasuke managed to get past a second hidden trap. "Grab my hand," he commanded, Narie instantly following suit as she tried to reach him.

"I can't reach...damn it!"

Sasuke leaned a little further, his fingers brushing against hers in attempt. "Kaburen, take hold of my wrist," he commanded. Kaburen did as told, allowing Sasuke to lean further down and finally taking a firm grip to the woman's hand. "Hold on tight," the Uchiha said as calmly as he could, nodding his head at Kaburen to start pulling them up.

Within a few moments, Narie was freed from the trap, finding a safe spot to sit down as she rubbed a throbbing ankle.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah...just give me a few moments to—ow!"

Sasuke knelt down beside her, removing her sandal to get a better look. "Looks like it's sprained. Perfect. I guess we'll need to try and make a makeshift splint of some sort to keep it in place," he muttered as Narie looked down at her lap with depressed eyes. "Sorry...the trap was completely hidden and I tripped over it," she said softly, "I'm sorry that I'm a burden like this."

"Don't worry, okay? When we get to a place to rest, I'll heal it," Kaburen said, earning surprised looks from his team. "What?" he asked, "Did you think I wouldn't learn some healing techniques from my wife?"

_'Healing techniques? According to Sakura, it takes awhile to even learn some of the basic jutsus,'_ Sasuke thought as he watched Kaburen helped Narie onto his back, _'Just who is this guy?'_

* * *

"Tsunade-sama!" Ino called, noticing the busty woman appearing down the hall. "Hmm? Ino, Sakura? What is it?"

"Tsunade-sama, Sakura's been really ill lately. For two weeks now, she's been throwing up and--"

"I'm FINE! It's just a little virus that's sticking around."

"Two weeks is a long time for even a virus to stick around. And according to Shizune, she's noticed the same symptoms," Tsunade replied, "Both of you follow me." "Why won't either of you believe me?" Sakura asked with anger in her voice.

"Because we think we know what's wrong."

* * *

It was nighttime when the three shinobi finally found a place to rest, free of traps and pitfalls. Kaburen sat Narie down against a tree. "All right, just hold still while I take care of this injury of yours," he said, focusing light green chakra in his hand and placing it over her ankle. Within a few moments, the pain disappeared.

"There. Try moving it now."

"Okay...that's so much better. Thank you Kaburen!"

"Heh, you should thank Sakura-chan more or less. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have learned the techniques I know."

Sasuke stared at them for a moment before turning away to focus on making a fire. _'He must have already known healing jutsus. Sakura wouldn't have learned how to heal ligaments until several months into her training from what I've learned from her and that bastard Kabuto,'_ he thought as he chucked a few pieces of wood, found by the edge of the forest, _'And his speed at healing was extremely advanced for an amateur. Hatenku isn't telling the full truth behind he is. And during this exam I'm going to find out.'_

* * *

"That's what I thought...throwing up almost every morning, nausea during the day, and the increased appetite..."

"Tsunade-sama...?" Ino asked.

Tsunade turned to the two ladies in the office. "Well, Sakura. I predict that you're about a month and a half along now," she said. "T-tsunade-sama? Are you saying that I'm...?" the rosette asked in surprise.

"Yep. You're pregnant. This will be a big surprise to Kaburen when he returns, huh?"

* * *

So let's see. Sakura finally figures out that she's pregnant, and Sasuke's basically experiencing a moment of deja vu over the true identity of his teammate. Kabuto, your secret is in danger; best be careful from this point on!

Well, see you at the next update! Ja ne!


	13. Halfway Through

Author's Note: I'd like to take this time to thank everyone that has read and reviewed this story. This is one of my most popular stories, and it makes me happy to see that so many people love my writing. Thank you!

Chapter 12: Halfway Through

"Sakura? I thought I'd find you here."

The rosette turned around and smiled, "Hey Shizune. Yeah...I came out here to think." The older medic sat down beside her, "About the baby and Kaburen?" Sakura nodded her head, turning back towards the sunset. "It's hard. Knowing that the person you love is somewhere out there and you can't contact them or anything. And then carrying a child without the father knowing...it's a lot of stress on a person, you know?" she said, folding her legs in enough without having them too close to her stomach.

"Yeah. But to think, in a month they'll be back."

"A month that will go by so slowly, but will be wonderful when it's over."

* * *

"I'll take a double-shift tonight. You need some sleep Kaburen."

"It's all right--"

"No arguing. I can handle a double shift just fine."

Sasuke sighed at his teammates, "Stop it. I agree with Narie; you need some rest to keep up your chakra. As for the shifts however, we shall split what would be yours. Got it you two?"

"Fine."

"All right."

Sasuke's head quickly turned then as a strange sense of uneasiness settled in. "Hmm? Sasuke, what is it?" Narie asked, noticing her teammate's sudden actions. "Quiet...can you feel that?" he said in a near whisper. The other two adults looked around, now feeling the same uneasiness.

"Someone's watching us."

"Hn."

Narie took in a deep breath, trying to keep down what little nervousness that began to appear. She took out a kunai, holding it tight in her right hand, "I thought that Tsunade-sama said that there was really no need for fighting." "That doesn't count to renegades or criminal ninja," Kaburen muttered, a kunai in one hand and three shuriken in the other.

"Kaburen, move!" Sasuke yelled, Sharigan activating. With only a second to spare, the redhead jumped back in time to miss a kunai wave. "Damn it," the Uchiha muttered, "There's a large group of these guys. At least twenty."

"Twenty!? Oh...perfect."

"Just keep a cool head, Narie, and stay on your guard."

"Right."

"All right guys. On the count of three we move," Sasuke said as the enemies moved in closer, "One...two...THREE!"

* * *

Sakura waved good bye to Shizune before entering her home, back into the loneliness that enveloped the place since Kabuto left for the exams.

She smiled as she placed her hand on her stomach and walked over to the table where her parents' pictures rested, "One more month...and soon this house will have three people. I just can't wait."

* * *

Narie fell to her knees, her body starting to tire out. "There's just so many of them!" she yelled, trying her best to stand on her weak legs. Sasuke and Kaburen felt the same way, their bodies feeling limp and unresponsive.

_'My chakra is getting low...I won't be able to keep my guise up if this continues.'_

"Kaburen!"

He barely had time to react when Narie pushed him out of the way, a kunai slashing across her arm as she did. With a cringed face, she grasped her wound, "Damn it...it burns." "Poison," Kaburen muttered, "Hold still. Sasuke-kun, we need to hurry this up! We need to give Narie an antidote to this as soon as we can!" Sasuke cursed under his breath, "Keep on your toes then. Narie, stay back."

"I can still fight!"

"That poison may--"

"I can still fight!"

Despite the burning in her arm, she began to pull back her sleeve and pulled out three senbon needles and threw them in the direction of an approaching enemy. "I'm not going to stand around and be useless," she said firmly, "Hurt or not, I will fight."

_'Just like Sakura...'_

* * *

"Oi, Sakura-chan! Can you answer your door already?"

"Give me a moment Naruto! Geez!" Sakura yelled, putting down the kettle for her tea and walked towards the door, "What's wrong? Are you afraid to go to the hospital after your mission because I'm not there?" The blonde shook his head, "No! I heard from Tsunade-baa-chan that you're pregnant, so I came right here! Congrats Sakura-chan! You're going to be a mom soon!" Sakura laughed at he brought her into an excited hug. "Yep. In about seven months Kaburen-kun and I will have a little boy or girl in the house," she said, "I hope personally for a girl. I used to always dream about having a little girl around to talk with and such, you know?"

"I guess...but hey, let's go out and get something to eat! And no, not ramen because I know Hinata-chan doesn't like eating it all the time. Although I don't understand why; ramen is great."

"Heh, all right...Hey! Can I get my shoes on first!?"

* * *

"Can you...see anymore Sasuke-kun?"

"No...I think that was all of them."

Narie let out a sigh of relief, despite the severe pain she was in. "Good...because I don't think I could've hold out...much longer," she muttered, holding her arm tightly as dry blood clung to her fingers. Kaburen took quick motions to grab his bag, "Sit down Narie, and stay still. I'm going to have to apply this quickly; by now the poison's spread to your entire arm. I'm surprised you didn't feel any paralysis."

_'Paralysis poison? How could he make that easy of a judgement?'_

Sasuke watched as the redhead pulled out a bottle of what looked to be a cureall. His onyx eyes widened ever slightly, _'That's something that Kabuto came up with and used once on me. I remember the bottle.'_ He watched as Kaburen spread a thin layer of the medicine over Narie's injury and noticed how quickly her face began to lighten, as if whatever pain that plagued her became relieved.

_'Could he really be...?'_

* * *

Sorry for the delay in updating. Blame school and constant other ideas running through my mind. Anyway, enjoy!


	14. Be Careful! The Secret Is Out!

Author's Note: Here's the chapter you guys have been waiting for! Let the drama and such commence!

Chapter 13: Be Careful! The Secret Is Out!

Four days passed since the fight, and Team Konoha was almost at Iwa, ready for the third part of their exam. For Sasuke and Narie, it meant that they were almost done. The exam was about to be three-fourths the way over, and then they could return home and start living under the rank of Jonin.

But for the man under the guise of their teammate, it was almost a welcoming sight. It was in this village where his life with Sakura began.

"_The place I'm staying at isn't too much farther now," Sakura said as she continued to drag Kabuto through the rain-drenched streets of Iwa. He only nodded as he tried to keep up with her speed, wanting out of the rain as much as she did._

_Within a matter of minutes, they found themselves in front of a door to a small house, an obvious rental-only place judging by the lack of outside care. Sakura quickly dug out the key from her pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open and almost ran inside. She shook her head, her cotton candy colored hair sticking slightly to her face, "Much better. Just now it's colder."_

"_To say the least," Kabuto muttered, taking off his muddy shoes as he closed the front door, "Do you have an air conditioner on or something?"_

"_Nope. This old thing doesn't have one. Hell, there's barely any space in this place. Thank god I'm not staying here for too much longer. My mission ends in about a year and eight months."_

"_I see."_

_Sakura smiled, "Just go and wait in the living room. I'll go and grab some towels and blankets. Sadly, I don't have a change of clothes for you, so I guess you're just going to have to deal with that. Sorry." The silver haired man nodded as he watched the cherry blossom disappear down the small hallway past the little kitchenette._

_Ten minutes she returned, changed into drier clothes with one towel around her hair and several more in her hand on top of a large quilt. "Here we go. I'll make some tea for us while you try to dry off, okay?" she said, earning a nod before walking off towards the kitchenette._

"_I only have lemon though. Is that okay?"_

"_Yes, that's fine."_

"_All right."_

_She took out the kettle she had and filled it with water, placing it on the lit burner once it was full. She backed away from the pot, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the small counter, waiting for the water to boil. She didn't notice Kabuto staring at her through the window-like opening to the kitchenette._

"_Sakura...what do you mean you can't be in love with me?"_

_Her body froze up and she turned around, seeing onyx-behind-glass staring at her and a serious expression playing his lips. "What...?" she inquired, a bit confused by the sudden question. "What you said at the lake. You said that you can't be in love with me. Is it because of our past? Because of being enemies?" he asked._

_Sakura sighed as she walked into the living room, sitting down on the small loveseat beside him. "It's...complicated," she muttered, biting her bottom lip, "Enemies...aren't supposed to fall in love with each other. It's practically treason on both sides."_

"_Treason? Love is treason?"_

"_I never said that."_

"_Then why?"_

_She bit her lip again as she looked down at her folded hands. "I just...I don't know. It's so complicated to explain, but yet so easy to think," she sighed before she continued, "Ever since Sasuke-kun left...I told myself not to fall in love again. And then the next thing I knew...I found myself in love with my enemy...in love with you."_

_She took off the towel that held up her hair before turning back to him, emerald eyes trying their best to hide the tears that wanted to show. "Kabuto-san...I'm afraid," she muttered._

"_Why?"_

"_I'm afraid...that I'm just going to get hurt again. Maybe that's why...I can't be in love with you. Love has hurt me before; what's to say that it won't do it again?"_

_She stood up again, "I need to check the water." She barely took a step before he grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down to the loveseat, his hand cupping her cheek. "Sakura, I'm not going to hurt you. Why would I hurt someone I love?" he asked, and he almost chuckled at the surprised expression that formed on her face._

"_K-kabuto-san--"_

"_Don't say my name like that."_

"_Kabuto...kun?"_

_He smirked, "I like that better...Sakura-chan."_

"Iwa's finally in sight. Great, now it won't be much longer before we can take a break and eat," Narie said. Kaburen broke from his thoughts and increased his speed, keeping up with his teammates as they approached the village.

"Tsunade-sama! The baby won't be coming for a long while! I can handle the heavy load!" Sakura yelled, protesting her sensei's cutback on her work. "Sakura, until your pregnancy is over, I won't allow you to take on more work than necessary. Or at least until you get past the morning sickness. For now, I'm keeping you on simple duties, and no missions," the blonde instructed, much to the pouting chagrin of the rosette.

"It's not like you would send me on a mission anyway. Besides, you know I wouldn't take it, just in case of our team's return from the Jonin exams."

"True. Now go to Room 14; Shikamaru and Tenten recently returned from a mission and have some minor wounds that are need of healing."

"Yes Tsunade-sama."

Sasuke sighed as he sat down beside his teammates, taking a drink of his water before sliding it into his larger shuriken holder. "It'll be sundown before long. But I think we can make it a little further before nightfall, if we don't spend more than five minutes resting," he said.

"All right. You know...it's hard to believe that we're on the last big part of the exams. After this, it's the path home and we'll be Jonins," Narie said, smiling as she brushed a hand through her dirty hair, "Which will be awesome...I miss Konoha and March-nii-san." Kaburen chuckled, "You're not the only one missing someone. I'm sure Sakura-chan is probably ranting almost every night to Ino or Tsunade-sama over something or another, or taking on an overload at the hospital to try and take her mind off the exams."

_'And probably not even knowing the lie you seem to be telling.'_

The moon was on its rising path up when the team stopped their travels for the night, their chosen campsite within hearing distance of a river. "Finally, a river...a quick chance to clean up a little," Narie said with a bit of a smile on her face.

"We'll set up. Go on ahead."

"All right. Thanks Sasuke!"

"Hn."

As soon as she was out of sight, the Uchiha sigh, "I'll never understand the reason why women find reason even in the wilderness the urge to become clean." Kaburen chuckled as he spread out the blanket he had packed in his bag, "It's one of those things men will never understand, Sasuke-kun. We just have to accept it."

A few minutes later Narie returned, her hair and face still dripping, "The water is really cool and refreshing. That felt really good. This is the first time I've felt somewhat clean since the night before the exams."

"That's good. But you do know you're going to soak most of your blanket with your hair that wet, and more than likely catch a cold."

"Yeah I know. But it's pretty warm tonight, so I don't think it'll be that big of a deal really."

"All right you two," Sasuke said, a bit of a smirk on his lips, "Time for bed. We got a long day ahead of us. According to what the sentry at the start of this level, it'll take at least two weeks to get through here, if not more. And this is only the first day. We need some rest. I'll take the first watch."

"Yes, Daddy," Narie said with a mocking grin before laying down on her half of the blanket while Kaburen took the other, "I'll take the next shift."

"Hn. Night."

The moon was at full peak when Kaburen woke up, taking quick looks at his teammates, both with eyes closed and seemingly sleeping, and stood up. His destination was the river, taking the late night opportunity to wash as well without his guise in his way.

Content to the idea and his path to the river, he didn't see a pair of onyx eyes trail his steps until he went out of sight. _'Perfect,'_ Sasuke thought as he stood up, concealing his chakra and following the path his teammate took.

Sasuke knew that there was something behind that red hair and green eyes, and he was going to find out tonight.

He hid himself well in a tree, waiting for the right moment. He watched his teammate dive cupped hands into the water, splashing the contents they brought up onto his glasses-less face.

"Ah...very refreshing indeed."

With an easy few signs, the guise lifted, revealing silver hair and onyx eyes. Sasuke's eyes widened at the sight._ 'Kabuto Yakushi,'_ he inwardly cringed at the name, his fist now clenched, _'All this time he's been under this guise. The medic jutsu, low chakra...it all makes sense now. And I bet that Sakura hasn't a clue about this."_

"Sakura-chan would probably love this."

Sasuke frowned, _'This entire time they've been lying to us all...'_ He watched Kabuto put back on his guise, and made the quick steps to get back to the campsite before the man reached it.

Looks like the secret is officially out. Best be careful Kabuto and Sakura; the exams may keep the secret safe for now, but afterward is the problem. Take cautious steps now!

Also, other than this chapter, I have planned out 5 more chapters and an epilogue. But I do have a sequel planned, so just a heads up. Yay!


	15. The Final Stretch! Where's Team Konoha?

Author's Note: Time for a huge timeskip. Yep, this chapter is the last dealing with the Jonin exams!

Chapter 14: The Final Stretch! Where's Team Konoha?

Sakura smiled as she quickly dressed. Today was the last day of the exams, and at noon all teams that made it through the exams would be at the stadium, ready to earn the rank of Jonin.

_'And that will include Kabuto-kun, Sasuke-kun, and Narie-chan. I just can't wait! Gah!'_

A few brushes through her hair and her sandals one, she almost ran out of her room, grabbing her purse and keys off the living room table and headed out the door. "Best hurry up...Hinata, Naruto, and Ino are probably waiting for me so we can go out for breakfast before going over to the stadium," she muttered aloud to herself as she hurried to their meeting place.

* * *

"This is the last day and the exam ends in four hours! Keep up you two!"

"Right Sasuke!"

"Got it!"

* * *

"The excitement is so intense! I can't wait to see everyone come in!" Ino exclaimed, almost spilling her cup of coffee at the same time. "You're not the only one," Naruto said, "But I'm sure out of all of us, Sakura is the most excited, ne?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes. I miss my husband so much. I've been waiting this entire time for him to return." Hinata smiled, "Especially since you found out about the baby. When do you plan on telling him?" The rosette shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Probably not for the next few days. He's going to be tired already, so news like that probably isn't going to help him sleep. Knowing him, he's going to go all crazy on me."

"And this is coming from the Queen of Ranting."

"...Shut up Pig."

* * *

"I'm getting tired, guys...This is some hard running that we're doing..."

Sasuke sighed as he stopped, motioning for Narie to get on his back. "I'll carry you for a little bit, all right? Hatenku, hold her bag," he commanded.

Within a few moments, they were off again, Narie breathing a small sigh of relief on her tired and aching feet.

* * *

"Wow...everyone in Konoha must be here!"

"To say the least...hey, Naruto-kun, isn't that Gaara?"

The blonde perked up and looked in the direction of Hinata's pointing finger. "Yeah it is! Gaara!" he exclaimed, making the quick run towards his visiting friend and trailing siblings. The redhead turned at the call of his name, and smiled ever lightly at the orange blur coming at him.

"Hello Naruto, Sakura. And your friends as well."

"Hey Gaara! It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has. Kazekage duties are a big thing and has little time for escape. You'll see that when you become Hokage."

Naruto laughed at that while the others around him chuckled. "Come with us," Kankuro said, "We're going to our seats right now." Temari nodded, "Join us, will you?" The four Konoha nins nodded their heads and followed the Sand sibs to their seats.

* * *

"Are you rested up now Narie?"

"Yeah...Thank you Sasuke. Hopefully I wasn't a burden."

"No. Just be prepared to run as fast as you were."

"Right!"

* * *

Several teams have trickled into the stadium, each met with excited cheers and applause. There was now an hour and a half until the exam was finished.

For our Konoha group, that time was full of anxiety and worry, specifically for the rosette kunoichi waiting with one hand gripped tight into a fist and the other over her stomach.

"Sakura, are you okay? You're not sick are you?" Temari asked, noticing her friend's behavior. Sakura smiled despite herself, "No. My husband is taking the exams, and it's only natural for a wife to worry about her husband."

"Married? I didn't know that! Congrats!"

"Thank you."

"And Sakura-chan's pregnant, and she hasn't told Kaburen yet cause of the exams."

"Naruto!"

Gaara chuckled at the large bump that started to form on Naruto's head. "I shall take this as a lesson to never anger a pregnant woman with strength in her fists," he said softly.

* * *

"The time's going by fast...we not make it."

"Don't get that attitude on us, Kaburen! We will make it! We made it this far, we can make it back to the village!"

Kaburen chuckled at the exclamation, _'She's practically a younger version of Sakura-chan.'_

* * *

There was 35 minutes until the end of the exam. More teams entered the stadium, but there was still no sight of Team Konoha.

Ino looked over at her friend and frown. "Don't worry Sakura. They'll get here," she said comforting, taking of the kunoichi's hands in hers. Sakura smiled lightly at the comforting gesture, but her mind still raced with the low and painful thoughts.

_'What if they don't make it...?'_

* * *

_'By now Sakura-chan is worried sick. I'll be home soon. Just be in those stands when I get there.'_

_'Marco-nii-san...I hope you're proud of me. I hope that Mom and Dad are proud too. I'm almost home. I'm almost home!'_

_'Hn...that dobe is probably going to make a ruckus as soon as we arrive. Well, best be ready to face it; we're almost at the gates.'_

* * *

Six minutes to noon.

"Damn it, where are they!?" Naruto yelled, his impatience growing. "Naruto-kun, calm down. They'll be here," Hinata said calmly. He sighed and folded his arms over his chest.

"It's not for me why I'm getting angry...it's for Sakura-chan."

"I know...She's trying so hard not to cry right now. But, all we can really do is wait."

* * *

"The gates! Perfect! Now we just need to make it to the stadium on time!" Narie yelled, "Sasuke, how much time do we have left?"

"Not much...put your chakra to your feet and let's get going."

"Right!"

* * *

Two minutes were left.

_'Where are they? Please...please get here soon! Sasuke-kun, Narie-chan...Kabuto-kun. Please!'_

"Looks like there's one more team. And judging by the headband..." Tsunade said, smiling.

"It's Team Konoha!"

Sakura looked up from her clenched hands to see the three familiar figures run into the stadium. "They made it...they made it!" she yelled, "They made it back all right!" Ino squealed as she grabbed her friend, "I knew they would! I knew they would come back in time!"

"Hell yeah, 'tebayo!"

"Such a pleasant sight to see."

"I'm so happy for you Sakura!"

The rosette smiled at her friend, "Thank you Temari."

* * *

"We did it! We made it! We're finally Jonins!" Narie exclaimed, almost pushing Sasuke to the ground with an excited jump-hug. Sasuke chuckled as he pulled the woman off of him, "Yes. Congrats to us all." Kaburen smiled as Narie laughed in her happiness.

"Sasuke, Narie, Kaburen."

The three turned around to see Tsunade and Shizune, both of them with smiles on their faces. "Congrats to the three of you. You made Konoha very proud indeed. It's an honor to give you three the rank of Jonin," the blonde Hokage said. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama!" Narie said, letting out another squeal of delight.

"And it looks like we have some company coming," Shizune said, pointing over towards the approaching crowd. They turned their heads to see their friends coming closer.

"About time you guys showed up!"

Sasuke smirked, "Dobe." Naruto only grinned as they met knuckle-to-knuckle as Hinata and Ino were promptly pulled into a congratulatory hug by the midnight-haired woman. Kaburen smiled, but then looked around for the only person he really cared about seeing.

"Kaburen-kun!"

He smirked at the sound of Sakura's voice, finding pure bliss in the voice he had missed for the past two months. Sakura only smiled as she ran into her husband's arms, "You made it home! You're home at last!"

"Yeah, I'm home."

Sakura smiled as she met his lips with hers, "I'm so glad to see that you're home Kabuto-kun. I missed you so much." He didn't even answer; his actions were more than enough.

Little did they notice a pair of trailing onyx eyes upon them, and the running thought of hidden knowledge going through the owner's head.

* * *

United at last! Congrats guys for making it to Jonin! But Kabuto and Sakura's secret may soon be exposed, and what will that mean for our pair? Well, wait for the next chapter!


	16. Revealed

Author's Note: The story's updating fast, ne? Well, this is the part I've had planned out since around Chapter 4, so yep. But hey, I'm sure you guys love it either way!

Chapter 15: Revealed

A week had past since the Jonin exams ended, and already Team Konoha was hard at work on a special assignment, which was kept from two certain adults until somehow they found out.

"Tsunade-sama! They finally get back after two months and you send them on a mission? Do you see something wrong with this picture?"

"I do admit, Tsunade-sama. Narie, Sasuke-san, and Kaburen-san have barely been back a week and already they are off and running again."

The blonde woman started at the two adults with a sigh in her voice, "It couldn't be helped. The mission required three Jonin escorts, and those three were the only ones available to do so. It won't be that long before they return. And how did you two even learn this anyway?"

Marco and Sakura replied at the same time, "Naruto."

Tsunade sighed as she rested her head in her hands. _'Idiot.'_

* * *

"Sakura-san...did you ever tell your husband about the baby?"

"No...to tell the truth I didn't tell him nor Sasuke-kun and Narie-chan. I guess in all the excitement and buzz trying to get used to normal life and such, I just...forgot. But I'll tell them as soon as they get back from their mission. I bet they will all be surprised!"

* * *

"Narie and I will deliver the mission report to Tsunade-sama. You should go and rest your arm, Sasuke-kun. It did get rather strained."

"Hn."

As the pair turned towards the Hokage Tower, Sasuke made his way to a different destination.

_'Today, Sakura...you will tell me the truth.'_

* * *

Sakura hummed softly to herself as she stirred the stew cooking in the pot. "Mmm...smells good. Hopefully Kabuto-kun will be home to eat it," she said softly, turning off the heat to the pot and covered it with a lid. She continued her song as she wiped her hands on her apron before taking it off and going onto the next chore she had in mind.

She heard the click of the door opening and she smiled, "Oh you're home! Tsunade-sama said you...Sasuke-kun?"

Standing in her doorway was Sasuke Uchiha, his onyx eyes staring at her with emotions that she couldn't describe. "Sakura," he muttered, walking further inside and closing the door behind him.

"What are you doing here? And where's Kaburen-kun and Narie-chan? I would've thought they would be with you. Especially if you are all injured, which I can--"

She was cut off by the bruising grip on her right arm and the hard slam of her back to the pantry door. She seethed for a moment, closing her eyes in reaction for a moment. "Sasuke-kun, what the hell are you doing!?" she yelled, opening her eyes again and instantly regretting it.

"Sakura...you've been a liar all this time."

"Wh-what?"

"Ever since that night you've been lying."

"What are you talking about?"

He brushed a hand over her cheek, chuckling at the blush that formed on her cheeks. From anger or embarrassment, he hadn't a clue, but still that red was a sight of entertainment to his eyes. "Didn't you say something that night ago about love?" he asked, leaning his head down and resting it against hers.

"What's came over you, Sasuke-kun!?"

He only responded with his lips upon hers. Her emerald eyes widened, her free arm trying her best to push the Uchiha off of her. She let out a moan of angered protest, but it only led to more pressure and force.

* * *

Kaburen stopped in his tracks.

Narie noticed his silence and turned, "Kaburen? Is something wrong?" Without a word he ran off, towards the direction of his home. "Kaburen!" she yelled, giving chase after him.

_'I've never seen him act like this before. What's wrong with him?'_

Inwardly Kabuto seethed, _'Sakura-chan.'_

* * *

Sakura put as much strength as she could without causing extreme damage into her left arm and pushed Sasuke away from her. "What the hell was that about!? How dare you come into my house uninvited and kiss me like that! And knowing fully well that I'm a married woman!" she screamed, her breath in uneven pants.

Sasuke smirked, "Married in a lie."

"What the hell do you mean!?"

"I'm onto your secret, blossom," he replied, using the pet name. Sakura's emerald eyes flickered with the same emotion it did that night when he called her that. "I told you only Kaburen-kun is allowed to call me that."

"There is no Kaburen, is there?"

"Of course there is! He's your teammate and my husband."

She found her back against the wall again, onyx eyes now crimson. "Stop this freaking lie of yours!" he yelled, gripping her arms to keep her still. "Let me go! Get out of my house now!" the rosette yelled, trying to her best to break from his grip.

She didn't have to try hard. Sasuke let go of her arms in an effort to dodge a blue-handed attack.

He turned around and smirked at the male figure in front of him. "So you decided to show," he said.

"Keep your hands off my wife."

"Sakura-chan!" Narie yelled, making her presence known as she ran towards her friend, gently holding her shoulders as she tried to even out her breathing, "Are you all right?" Sakura nodded as she stared at the two males.

"I believe you should leave now, Sasuke-kun."

"Heh...why don't you step out of your guise now that you're home? Is that your first thing once the door is closed?"

Sakura gasped while Narie watched in confusion. _'Guise? I don't get it...why would Kaburen hide behind a fake face?'_ she questioned herself.

"So you were the one that spied on me that night."

"Hn."

"Well...Sakura-chan, I guess the cat's out of the bag."

Smoke began to envelope the redhead, disappearing soon after to reveal silver hair and onyx eyes much like the man before him. Narie gasped while Sakura bowed her head. "So the truth is out," she whispered, breaking away from the younger woman's grasp.

"You're right Sasuke-kun...There is no Kaburen. Just as there is no Sakura Hatenku."

She stood between them, "There's Kabuto and Sakura Yakushi." Sasuke smirked in satisfaction.

"Kabuto...Yakushi? What...what's going on here?" Narie asked, her mind confused; her teammate was just a lie? Kabuto only sighed as he stared into her light brown eyes, "I'm sorry Narie...Sakura-chan and I have both hid a lie from you and Konoha."

"Narie...Kabuto Yakushi is a former spy for the snake Sannin Orochimaru, a traitor to Konoha."

She looked at Sasuke in shock then turned back to Kabuto, "Orochimaru!? The man that killed the Third Hokage and tried to destroy the village!? You used to work for him!?" Sakura looked down at the floor, "Yes...he used to be his right arm. Back then...we were enemies. But when I was in Iwa, enemies faded to friends to lovers to husband and wife. And when my mission ended, we came up with a fake identity and came back to Konoha. I wanted to live here with my friends, my family. You, Naruto, Ino...everyone."

"I'm sorry for betraying your trust like that, Narie."

"Kaburen...no, Kabuto..."

Narie gave a light smile, "Well, if Sakura-chan can trust you, then I can too Kabuto. Even though you worked for that snake bastard and pervert."

Sasuke let out a low growl, cutting the friendly-like mood of the room to nothing. "You took something away from me, Kabuto...Sakura was meant to be my wife," he muttered, Sharigan flaring. Kabuto only smirked as he wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist, "Too bad you blew your chance. You let her go to come and train with Orochimaru. And now I have the woman I love, and the one you will never have."

Narie noticed the Uchiha getting ready for a fight. "Sasuke!" she yelled, grabbing at his arm, "Don't start a fight! This isn't the place for such actions!" He moved his arm from her grip, "Keep out of business that doesn't concern you."

He turned towards Kabuto, "Meet me at the training grounds in twenty minutes."

Sasuke moved quickly passed them, leaving the trio standing still.

"Sasuke..." Narie whispered. "Kabuto-kun, you're not really thinking of...?" Sakura asked, turning towards her husband.

Kabuto only sighed, "It's not like I have much choice do I? A shinobi can never back away from a challenge."

* * *

The fight is about to begin! Who's going to win? Kabuto or Sasuke? And what about Sakura and Narie? How will they be able to stand doing nothing as they watch the men fight each other in what could be a death match? Well...you just need to wait (although I doubt it will be for long)!


	17. Confrontation: Sasuke and Kabuto

Author's Note: There's going to be some back-and-forth stuff in this. Sorry, I'm not great at writing out fight scenes, although they are easy to imagine.

Chapter 16: Confrontation: Sasuke and Kabuto

"You can't be serious! Kabuto-kun, you can't fight him! Someone could easily go into the fields and see you!"

"I don't have a choice. Sasuke-kun initiated a challenge; I have to accept."

Sakura tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from her emerald eyes, "You...you can't..." Narie frowned as she watched her best friend start to break down in worry. "Kabuto...this is going to be a practical death match," she muttered.

"Don't you think I know that already?"

Kabuto took off the fake frames, replacing them with his usual thin-rimmed glasses, "I have to go and meet him now. The time has ticked by enough. Knowing his speed, he's almost there as we speak." He turned towards the door, his hand on the doorknob.

"Sakura-chan..."

The rosette looked at him, tears becoming hard to hold back.

"I love you."

The tears fell as he closed the door behind him. "No...Kabuto-kun..." she whispered, falling to her knees. "Sakura-chan!" Narie yelled, running and kneeling down beside her, "Sakura-chan..."

"Kabuto-kun...why..."

The midnight-haired woman frowned, grabbing Sakura's hand. "Come on. If we leave now and take the long way, we can get to the grounds without them noticing we're there. I don't know if it will be the best thing...but I know that neither of us want to wait for the news," she said firmly.

* * *

Sasuke was already waiting when Kabuto showed up, taking off his guise that gave him clear run through the village.

"Heh...So Sakura couldn't convince you to back out."

"A shinobi doesn't back down from a challenge. Especially if it involves the stakes this battle has."

The silver-haired medic glared, "Sakura isn't a prize for you to try and win in a fight. She is my wife, and nothing you can do will take her away from me." Sasuke only chuckled, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again, revealing his Sharigan.

"We'll see about that, won't we?"

* * *

"There they are. Looks like their battle has barely started," Narie remarked quietly, hiding herself in hopes that neither man would see her or Sakura watching in the distance. Sakura, on the other hand, was quiet, her emerald eyes watching the battle carefully.

_'Kabuto-kun...Sasuke-kun...why must you two fight like this? There's no need for such fighting...so why...?'_

* * *

Sasuke growled at the sudden paralysis of his leg, done easily by one of Kabuto's jutsus. "Damn you...why did you have to come into Sakura's life?" he muttered, ignoring the pain he was feeling.

"Why couldn't you be like your master and died!?"

Despite the injury, the Uchiha managed to make one good punch into Kabuto's stomach, sending him back a few feet and causing his breath to ultimately hitch.

"Kabuto-kun..."

"Damn it...Sasuke really is playing for keeps..."

Narie frowned, her hands clenching over one another as if she was in pain.

"_**I've liked Sakura since our genin days. However, I was too blind by my ambitions to really realize that and I hurt her, left her alone. That feeling only grew. Then I come back and hear that she's married and moved on..."**_

_**Narie sighed, "You love her and you're jealous of the man that took her away from you." She stood up, hands now resting on her hips, "That's really sad, Sasuke-san. You shouldn't hold it against Kaburen-san that Sakura-chan fell in love with him. It's her heart and her choice, and it's almost like you're criticizing her for her choice by how you're treating her husband."**_

_'Sasuke...why can't you just let go?'_

* * *

The battle went on, and each knew that they were reaching their limits. They each knew the battle was going to end soon.

Sasuke knew that it was time for his trump card. And that card would give him the victory he wanted to claim.

He smirked at the man before him as he started to form the hand signs and gather chakra into his hand, _'The last round.'_

* * *

"What...what is Sasuke doing?" Narie questioned, the jutsu he was performing was one she never seen. Sakura gasped, "No...he can't be...he's using..."

"Chidori!"

"Chidori...? Sakura-chan, what kind of--hey, Sakura-chan! What are you doing!?" Narie yelled, watching as the rosette stand and run out of her hiding spot.

_'This has to stop...it has to stop now!'_

Kabuto gasped at the sight of Sasuke's Chidori coming at him fast, leaving no time for him to run or defend. He closed his eyes, waiting for the blow.

All he felt was liquid on his face. He opened his eyes to see blood stained his glasses.

Narie screamed, "SAKURA-CHAN!"

* * *

GASP! A big cliffhanger! I am so freaking evil. Well, don't worry; the next chapter will be up really soon. Actually, I'll probably work on it tonight, so expect it to be out in the next couple of days. But for now...-evil laugh- I leave you with this!


	18. Taking The Hit! The Knowledge Of

Chapter 17: Taking The Hit! The Knowledge Of The Child!

_'Blood...? What...?'_

Kabuto wiped away the red from his glasses to see the most horrid sight he ever thought he would see. "S-sa-sakura-chan...No!" he yelled, onyx eyes wide and frightened beyond belief.

Before him stood his wife, Sasuke's hand almost completely inside the left side of her chest.

In disgust and horror, Sasuke removed his hand, watching Sakura fall limply to the ground. "Sakura...Sakura...why? Sakura..." he muttered over and over, staring at the hand coated in her blood. "Sakura-chan!" Narie yelled, running from her hiding spot towards the trio, tears pouring from her brown eyes.

"Sakura-chan...why did you...?" Kabuto whispered, quickly gathering what chakra he could to seal up the wound.

"Kabuto...she'll...she'll be all right...will she?"

"...I don't know. I can only offer emergency care right now; my chakra is too low. We'll need to get her to the hospital quickly."

Narie looked up at Sasuke, noticing his eyes hold such shock and disbelief. He saw her coming, but he couldn't really stop himself. In any instance, he would've hit her...and it was the worse thing he ever did.

"Sasuke..." the woman muttered, "You were blind again...weren't you? Blinded by ambitions...and again Sakura-chan is hurt..." Sasuke didn't reply; each word Narie said was absolutely true.

Narie sighed, her tears still streaming down her cheeks, as she put her hand over his bloody one, "Maybe now...this will be enough reason to let go."

"Narie, Sasuke-kun...we need to hurry. I sealed up the wound as best as I could...but something like this is best for someone like Tsunade-sama to heal," Kabuto said, picking up Sakura in his arms without a care about the blood staining his clothes. The two nodded and Narie took up the lead, "I'll show you the path Sakura-chan and I took here! It leads right to the hospital!"

* * *

"Tsunade-sama! There's a patient in need of emergency care!"

"Who?"

"Sakura Haruno! She's been severely injured!"

Nothing got the blonde Hokage up faster than that.

* * *

"Hold on Sakura-chan...just hold on," Kabuto muttered, holding tight to her cold hand. The door to the room bursted open, revealing Tsunade with her face full of worry...and then sudden anger.

"Kabuto Yakushi...how dare you enter Konoha's walls! What did you do to Sakura!?"

Narie stood forward, "Tsunade-sama! Kabuto didn't do anything! Sakura-chan ran into Sasuke's Chidori during their battle!"

"There's not much time for any more explanation. Please Tsunade-sama...please," Kabuto said, onyx eyes pleading, "Please save my wife."

* * *

Sasuke stared at his hand, although cleared of blood. His hand could've killed her, if he didn't stop himself that little bit.

He should've stopped as soon as he saw Sakura stand in front of Kabuto. But he didn't...and now she was in that cursed hospital room, Tsunade trying desperately to save her.

"Sasuke."

He looked up to see Narie, not surprised to see those brown eyes of hers cold and sad staring at him. She didn't speak another word as she took the seat next to him. He noticed the red stain on her palm from when she touched his hand, and watched as a slight stain was left on her styrofoam cup of water.

"_**Sasuke...You were blind again...weren't you? Blinded by ambitions...and again Sakura-chan is hurt...Maybe now...this will be enough reason to let go."**_

"Aren't you going to yell at me? Scream at me for hurting your idol? Your best friend?"

Narie didn't say a word as she stared into her empty cup. She turned her head to look at him, "I yelled at you a long time ago. There's no need to repeat myself, is there?" Her voice was calm, but Sasuke could easily hear the sharp, depressing cold that laced within it.

"Narie..."

"I hold no ill will towards you, Sasuke. I have no right to. Right now...the only one that should hold ill will is yourself."

Kabuto only stared at the closed door, waiting for it to open and to hear Tsunade say that Sakura was all right. He knew that he was in danger, his true self out in the open, but that was only a background thought.

All he wanted was for his wife to wake up and smile at him, and giving him the comfort at knowing that she was okay, that she was safe.

The door finally opened, and three heads turned to see Tsunade come out, tired but a relieving smile formed on her lips.

"It was a little rough, but they're both all right."

"They?" their voices echoed in unison. The Hokage looked at them confused, "Sakura didn't tell you guys yet?"

"Tell us what?"

"Please Tsunade-sama...what's going on?"

She looked over at the silver-haired man, "As much as I don't agree with it now, you're going to be a father soon, Kabuto." His onyx eyes widened, his feet then taking him past Tsunade into the hospital room. "Sakura-chan's pregnant? But...why didn't she tell us? We've been home all this time, and she hasn't said a word about it!" Narie yelled. Tsunade only shrugged her shoulders, "I really have no idea."

* * *

Sakura rested peacefully on the hospital bed, no knowledge of injury on her chest, with her arm rested over her stomach almost symbolically.

Kabuto only stared at her as he took a seat next to her, grabbing her hand in his. "Sakura-chan...why did you run between us? Knowing you were carrying our child? You could've been killed...and I would've lost both of you," he whispered against their clasped hands, brushing back some of her pink locks that fell into her face.

"I guess...it was just a wife's instinct...to protect her husband."

He watched as her emerald eyes opened and her lips formed a weak smile. "I guess...congrats on becoming a dad...Kabuto-kun," she said, her hand grasping his, albeit weakly.

"Sakura-chan, do you know how much of an idiot you are?"

"A major one...but you love me for it."

He only smiled, the only meant only for her to see, as he hungrily kissed her, afraid to let it go even for a second. He almost lost her...and he didn't want that to ever happen again.

Sadly for him...fate still had another card to play.

"Kabuto...there is still a matter we need to discuss. Sasuke, Narie, sit down in those chairs over there," Tsunade commanded, closing the hospital door behind her.

* * *

We all know that a punishment is inevitable. But what will happen to Kabuto? And how will this affect the future for his wife and unborn child? Well...you just have to wait for the next (and final) chapter!


	19. An SRank Mission

Chapter 18: An S-Rank Mission: A Dangerous Punishment

"Sakura-chan! You're awake!" Narie exclaimed, happy to see the rosette sitting up in the hospital bed. Sakura smiled, somewhat weakly, watching her friends take their seats. Her eyes then turned towards her sensei, following her to the end of the bed where she sat.

"Sakura...I should assign punishment to you as well. What you have done could be considered treason. However...since Sound had fallen long ago and are no longer considered a threat, we are no longer enemies. I will forgo punishment for that reason."

Tsunade then looked over at Kabuto, "As for you...you may not be our enemy, but you are still a high-ranked criminal." Kabuto nodded in understanding, feeling Sakura's hand squeeze his tighter.

"What I should do is have you executed."

Sakura bowed her head, Narie felt her breath catch in her throat, while Sasuke and Kabuto remain impassive and still.

"But...seeing as there are other circumstances involve...I will not have you killed. I won't have Sakura and the child be without their husband and father."

Sakura smiled slightly, glad to hear Tsunade speak those words, but it quickly faded when her sensei's lips parted again.

"Instead...I will be sending you on an S-rank mission. The mission will be to find and kill three of the village's top S-rank missing nin threats. You may only return to the village when you succeed. When you do return, you'll be cleared of any charges against you and will be a Jonin ninja of Konoha."

Sakura looked up, emerald eyes in shock, "Tsunade-sama! That's practically suicide! The high ranking criminals against Konoha are beyond powerful! This is way too--"

"Very well."

Three pairs of shocked eyes turned to stare at Kabuto, watching him stand up. "I will take the mission, Tsunade-sama. I know that it may be considered suicidal, but I will accept the consequences of what will happen. It is my punishment," he said firmly, onyx eyes ever serious about the situation.

"Kabuto..."

"Hn. A dangerous punishment..."

"Kabuto-kun, you can't! You can't take this mission!"

Kabuto looked down at his wife, watching tears form in her eyes. "You can't take this! You're sure to be killed! Like we both said, it's a form of suicide!" she screamed, grabbing his hand desperately.

"Sakura-chan--"

"We can go anywhere we want! We can go back to Sound or Iwa! We can be together any place that will accept us!"

Tsunade looked at her student wide-eyed, "Sakura!" Narie stared at her in disbelief while Sasuke kept a steady half-gaze, trying his best gain direct eye contact.

Kabuto didn't say a word for a moment, but instead placed a hand on her head, brushing his fingers through her slightly-disheveled hair, "No, Sakura. As you said, you wanted to live here with your family and friends. This is your home, our home. There's no place else I want to be with our family."

He let go of her hand, turning towards Tsunade. "You have one hour to get prepared. At that point, the gates will be opened and you start on your mission," she told him. Kabuto nodded and bowed, "Yes Tsunade-sama."

Just as he turned to leave, Sakura's sad voice echoed in the room.

"What about our child? How do you think they will feel growing up without knowing their father, much less meeting him?"

Kabuto stopped in his tracks, his back to the rest of the room.

"Sasuke-kun...may I speak to you for a moment?"

* * *

"What is it?"

"I want you to act as a father figure for my child."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at his request, "What?"

"Sakura-chan is right...I don't want my child to not have someone like a father that they can grow with and learn," Kabuto explained, "And if there is one person I trust with my child..."

He looked at the Uchiha, "That would be you." Sasuke was taken aback by the trust that the medic was bestowing on him; he almost killed his wife, and yet Kabuto was willing to let him be a big part of his child's life?

"Will you please fill this one request?"

"...Hn."

Kabuto smiled, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." Suddenly their heads turned back towards the room, hearing the sound of Narie's voice yelling.

"Sakura-chan! You shouldn't move yet!"

"Let me go, Narie-chan!"

"But--"

Sakura fell slightly against the door frame, "Kabuto-kun...please! Please don't take this mission! Please...let's just go! Let's go someplace where we can be together!" Tears fell freely from her emerald eyes, streaming trails down her cheeks.

"I don't care where we go! I just want to go someplace, anyplace where we can be together! You, me, and the baby! Where we can be a family with no regrets, no troubles, no lies! We wouldn't have to hide like we're constantly in the rain! We wouldn't have to hide behind our fake names! We wouldn't have to be Kaburen and Sakura Hatenku, but Kabuto and Sakura Yakushi!"

Kabuto watched as she broke down, falling her knees and her hands resting over the right side of her chest, above her heart. He took a few steps towards her and knelt down, lifting her chin gently to face her.

"We will be Kabuto and Sakura Yakushi...shinobi of Konoha. And that best be the name I see on our door when I return home."

He placed one last gentle kiss on her lips, letting it linger for he knew that it would be the last time for who knows how long. He placed his hand gently on her stomach, smiling as he did.

"I love you Sakura-chan. Never, ever forget that. And make sure to tell our child that everyday I love them."

He stood up, giving one more nod towards Tsunade, leaving a comforting smile for Narie and a look of promise towards Sasuke.

The last thing any of them saw of him was his turn down the hall.

_'Kabuto-kun...'_

* * *

A knock echoed on the door, "Sakura? I'm coming in."

She paid no attention as Sasuke entered the room, nor looked towards him as he advanced towards the bed and sat on the edge. She only stared at her left hand, at the ring upon it.

"Sakura."

"...He's gone."

"Hn..."

Sasuke stared into her eyes, dulled and red from the hard crying. He frowned, reaching for her right hand. His fingers barely brushed the skin before Sakura stiffened, moving her hands away from him and her eyes becoming lit with apprehensiveness.

"D-don't touch me!"

"Sakura--"

"Just don't!"

Sasuke's eyes hardened ever slightly, "Sakura, listen to me! Kabuto asked me to do something very important and you need to know!" Sakura's breath hitched in her throat at the sound of her husband's name, followed by the sudden calm.

"When he asked me to step outside with him...he asked me for a favor. He...he wants me to act as a father figure for your child."

Sakura looked up in shock, staring into Sasuke's softened orbs, "W-what?"

"Kabuto placed his trust in me to watch over your child and act like a father, so that they won't grow up without that guidance. He told me...there was no one else he would trust with that."

He looked away, staring down at his hands, "Even after I almost killed both of you...he asked me the biggest request that anyone have ever asked of me." He looked up again, reaching his hand out gently to rest it on Sakura's stomach. She stiffened, but didn't force his hand away.

"If you will allow me...I will love to act as that figure. I would treat the child as if they were my own, guide them and be there for them as a father as they grow up. From beginning to end."

Sakura stared at him, noticing how he only stared at his hand resting on her stomach. Her lips formed a slow and steady smile.

"I guess...our little baby will have their Uncle Sasuke to turn to as well."

* * *

Isn't that SO CUTE? Even after what happened, Kabuto places all trust in Sasuke to help with their baby.

Well, that's the final chapter for you! The epilogue will be up soon, followed by the sequel. So be ready for the final part of Love Of A Cherry Blossom!


	20. Epilogue: Reunited

Author's Note: Well...the end of this fic is here. But I assure you, the ending will be worth the read! Thank you for reading and reviewing one of my favorite stories to write, and I'm glad to see so many people enjoyed the fic.

Epilogue: Reunited

"I'm so nervous, Yu-chan! I'm going to fail the test!"

"Don't be so worried, Su-chan. I've taken the test several times; it's not that hard."

"Yeah...but you failed on purpose..."

"So? Still doesn't change the fact that it's not that hard and you'll do fine. I mean, you've been training hard with your mom for the past week. You'll do well. Just have some faith, okay?"

"...Okay."

The instructor looked up from her clipboard, "Sunako Uchiha!" Sunako gulped, her hands shaking slightly as she stood forward, her shurikens ready between her fingers.

"Be confident Su-chan! You can do it!"

She smiled at her friend, then turned back to the targets, closing her eyes. She opened them again, a flash of determination filling her dark brown eyes. With a small cry, she released the shuriken at the targets. Eight clunks against wood echoed and the seven-year-old smiled, _'I did better than last time. I did a lot better! Awesome!'_

The instructor smiled as she made a few marks on the clipboard, "Good job Sunako. Eight out of ten. You have improved!" With a gentle laugh, she ran back towards her friend. "I did it! I can't wait to tell Dad! He's going to be so proud!" she yelled.

"Told you! All you had to do was be confident and calm."

"Yeah!"

The instructor called out the last name on the clipboard, "Yumi Yakushi!"

Eight-year-old Yumi looked forward, pushing up her glasses and taking out her shuriken quickly and made a run towards the targets. _'This is what I was waiting for! Finally my turn! And this time I can do it for real! I will get all ten targets this time!'_ she exclaimed inwardly, stopping at the drawn line.

"All right, here goes!" she called, throwing the weapons at the targets.

Much to the surprise of herself and some around her, only nine of the shuriken hit. "Nine out of ten, Yumi. Very nice!" her teacher said, marking it down on the clipboard.

Yumi's eyes scanned the targets, her green eyes dulled slightly. "I only hit nine...I thought that I would hit all ten this time. I swore I could do it," she muttered to herself. She then sighed, looking at the targets fierce determination, "Next time I will get all ten. I won't fail." Sunako smiled as her friend spoke her promise, but then found herself falling to the ground with a yelp.

"Huh? Su-chan!"

"The daughter of the great Sasuke Uchiha only got eight of the targets? What's wrong, Sunako? Not talented enough to hit them all?"

The young girl looked up at the eight-year-old upperclassman before her, "I'm just off in my aim! Leave me alone Tara!" Tara only sneered as she kicked dirt into Sunako's face, "Pathetic."

"Leave Su-chan alone, Tara!" Yumi yelled, throwing one of the shuriken at her feet, "I wouldn't be talking if I were you. You couldn't even hit half of the targets, last year or this year. So you have no room to talk."

Tara scoffed, "Shut up. You think you're so big because your mother is Tsunade-sama's apprentice, but you're nothing but a traitor's child." Sunako gasped as Yumi gritted her teeth.

"Don't ever say that again."

"What? Can't help it if the truth hurts. Your father is nothing but a disgusting traitor."

"My father is not a traitor! Kabuto Yakushi is a brave man to accept that suicidal mission, all in order to prove his right to stay in Konoha and make sure the village is safe for his family! And I will not stand anyone backtalking him!"

"Yu-chan! Don't start a fight!" Sunako yelled, trying her best to constrain her sister from attacking the girl before them, "She's not worth it!" Yumi growled low in her throat as Tara laughed.

"Tara. Leave Yumi and Sunako alone."

Three pairs of eyes turned towards the new voice. "Keitoro-kun..." Yumi whispered, her fists calming down slightly.

"Ke-keitoro-kun! I--"

"Yumi is right. Her father is a very brave man, a hero. And he has reason and home in the village. He deserves respect from everyone. Including you."

"But Keitoro--"

He sent a glare at the girl that sent her scurrying. Sunako smiled, "Thank you Keitoro-kun. I'm glad you came when you did. I didn't think that I could hold Yu-chan back for too much longer.

Keitoro nodded, then turned towards Yumi, "Don't let what Tara says bother you. Your father is a brave man. He's not the traitor that some still believe." He then smirked and waved them a goodbye before walking away.

"Keitoro-kun..."

"Hehe...Yumi Yakushi likes Keitoro Hyuuga!"

"Su-chan! D-don't say that!"

"Yumi and Keitoro sitting in a tree!"

"St-stop it!"

"Sunako, what are you teasing your sister about now?"

The two girls turned and looked up to see onyx eyes and raven-colored hair. "Uncle Sasuke! Why are you here?" Yumi asked, surprised to see the man at the academy. "You both forgot your lunches. Luckily Narie happened to make two," he said, pulling out two paper bags from the bag he was carrying.

"Oh...oops."

"Sorry Dad...make sure to tell Mom thank you for me! Remember, I won't be coming home until late, since Uncle Naruto and Aunt Hinata wanted us to come over and train with Minato and Raiko."

"Yes, I remember," Sasuke said with a chuckle, "Best be home by 7:30, got it? That goes for you too Yumi." The silver-haired girl nodded, "Yes Uncle Sasuke."

The midnight-haired girl turned and looked at the clock, "Yu-chan! We're going to be late for Iruka-sensei's class! We need to hurry!" Yumi let out a squeal of shock, placing her lunch into the bag she placed by a tree and pushing it quickly on her back.

"Crud! Bye Uncle Sasuke! Thank Aunt Narie for me! Gah! I can't believe we're going to be late!"

Sasuke chuckled as he watched the girls run off into the academy building, Yumi's yelling becoming faint.

His head then turned quickly, sensing someone close by. Someone very familiar. He smirked, "Took you freaking long enough."

Sakura sighed, staring out the office window.

_'Eight years...It's been eight years now since he left.'_

She sighed again as she put the scroll down on her desk, standing up from her chair, "I need a break."

"Huh? Sasuke? You're home early. I thought you were going to go and train with Naruto and Sai after you gave Yumi and Sunako their lunches," Narie asked, looking up to see her husband come into the room.

"Change in plans. Think you can go and grab a spare pair of clothes from the laundry real fast?"

"Why? Did..."

Her voice was cut off as she saw the familiar face, "You're back..." She smiled as she ran and wrapped her arms tightly around her teammate's neck, "About time that Team Konoha reunited."

Sunako looked up suddenly from her lunch, looking towards the direction of the Uchiha district. Yumi quirked an eyebrow, "What is it, Su-chan?"

"Yu-chan...I think that something really great is about to happen to you and Aunt Sakura."

"How do you figure that?"

"I don't know...but I just have that feeling..."

Yumi continued to stare at her friend as she returned to her lunch, still confused about the feeling. Sunako always had the habit of knowing things through strange and unknown feelings, and knowing that something was going to happen...

She shook her head as she returned to her lunch, enjoying the apple slices that Narie had packed.

"I thought I would find you here, Sakura-chan."

The rosette turned her head and smiled, "Hey Narie-chan. Came to stare at the clouds too?" Narie shook her head, "Actually, I wanted to show you something. Don't worry about work; I asked Tsunade-sama if I could take you away for a little bit and she agreed."

Sakura looked at her curiously, but stood up and walked alongside her friend to who knows where.

She found herself ten minutes later walking to the part of the district that Sasuke, Narie, and Sunako occupied. "Narie, why did you bring me here?" she questioned. Narie only smiled, "Go into the living room and you'll see."

Still confused, she did as told, only to stand barely a step inside the room before she froze.

Hands went her mouth in shock and tears started to brim her emerald eyes. "You're..."

"Heh...is that anyway to treat your husband after all these years?"

"Kabuto-kun! Kabuto-kun, you're finally home!"

Kabuto soon found himself on the floor, caught in the biggest hug possible, "I missed you too, Sakura-chan."

Narie smiled, wiping a tear from her eye as she watched the couple, _'At last...they're reunited.'_ She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head. "We should leave them alone. They have a lot of catching up to do," Sasuke said softly, pulling his wife's wrist to lead her to another part of the home.

"Hey Minato-chan, Raiko-chan! Glad to see you two are ready for training."

The five year old twin boys, ready with practice kunai and shuriken, smiled at their favorite (and only) senseis, "Yep! We've been waiting all day for this!"

Sunako laughed, "Well, we won't be staying too long. Since the academy let us out late, we only have three hours to train. So after we set down our bags, we'll get started." Yumi nodded, handing Sunako her bag and leading the twins to the mini-training ground that was the courtyard.

"I kept my promise, Kabuto-kun. Look at the door."

He looked at the wooden door and smirked at the name he saw there.

_Kabuto and Sakura Yakushi_

"I engraved it when I got out of the hospital, and had to fix it every couple of years. But it was worth it," Sakura continued, pulling out the key and unlocking the door, "It was a welcoming sight every time I came home to see our names there and not the lie."

"So I guess going on that mission was a good thing."

"No it was still bad, but...you're home now and that all that matters."

He smiled as he closed the door, taking in the home that he left eight years ago. "Still the same after all this time," he muttered.

"Kinda. We have another person in the house."

"Our child..."

"Yes."

Sakura picked up a picture frame that was on top of a shelf, "This is Yumi Yakushi, our daughter." Kabuto took the frame from her hands, staring at the figure on the photo behind the glass.

"She looks a lot like..."

"Yeah. A lot like you. She gained a lot more of her traits from you than me. Although she got my eyes and my determination."

Sakura smiled, "Every free moment she has she devotes herself to training so she can be a strong shinobi like her parents. And you are her role model in trying to obtain that." He looked at her surprised, "I am?"

Sakura nodded gently, running her fingers over the frame. "She sees you as a hero. She never showed any resentment over you not being here. In fact, she came home several times with scratches and bruises because someone at the academy backtalked you in front of her," she said, "When she learned about the past, all she did was smile and say that she was proud to be the daughter of a great and brave man."

Kabuto smiled as he stared at the picture, "My daughter...my Yumi."

"Gah! Mom's going to be so mad! I'm going to be so late getting home!"

Yumi started to push what chakra she had to her feet, increasing her speed in hopes she'll get home within the next three minutes. "Su-chan is so lucky that the Uchiha compound is only a couple of blocks away while I live on the other side of the village! Gah!" she yelled.

She slung her bag over her shoulder again, the thing threating to fall due to her running. "This freaking bites! Hopefully she'll accept the excuse that the boys were too cute to resist and wanted Su-chan and I to stay," she muttered, reaching the first street she needed to turn on.

Within ten minutes, she was in front of the door, tired and out of breath. _'Mom's going to be so mad...ah well, it's only one time. I don't think it'll be too bad...I hope,'_ she thought as she opened the door.

Sakura perked up at the sound of the door. "Mom, I'm home! Sorry, I'm late! The boys kept us late for training, and they were just too cute to resist!" she heard Yumi yell, followed by the rather loud slam of her bag.

"It's all right. Come in the living room. There's someone I want you to meet."

"We have a visitor? You didn't tell me that."

"Just come in here, hon."

Yumi did as told, and stopped at the doorway. Emerald and onyx, both behind glass, connected and stared in surprise. Suddenly Yumi cracked out into a smile and ran, wrapping her arms tightly around Kabuto's neck.

"Welcome home, Dad."

"Yumi, it's time to go to bed. You have a long day at the academy tomorrow."

"Aww, but Mom...I'm not tired yet! Come on, let me stay up!"

"Nah-uh. Off to bed you!"

The child pouted, "Fine. But I want Dad to tuck me in!" Sakura chuckled while Kabuto smiled. Yumi laughed as she grabbed her father's hand and dragged him to her room. Kabuto took in the sight of purple, silver, and blue, along with multitudes of scrolls and ninja weapons spread over desks and nightstands.

"I see you're not a girly girl."

"Nope! Stuff like that is for people like that meanie Tara, or even a little bit for Su-Chan. But I'm never going to be a girly girl! I'm going to be a strong kunoichi, and Mom said that when I turn 13, she'll teach me medical jutsus so I can be a medic nin like you two!"

Sakura laughed from the doorway, "Is that was Keitoro likes about you too?" Yumi turned around and looked at her mother with wide eyes, "How did you know I like Keitoro-kun!?"

"Oh, so you have a crush on someone?"

"Dad! Gah, why does everyone tease me about it!?"

"Because it's so cute. And I think Keitoro likes you too. Cause one time I swore I heard him say Yumi-chan."

"R-really Mom?" Yumi asked as she climbed into her bed. Sakura shrugged her shoulders teasingly, making Yumi pout. Kabuto chuckled, bringing the blanket up to Yumi's shoulders, allowing her to bring her arms up and over the covers.

"Good night, Yumi. Get some sleep."

"Mmhmm. Night Mom. Night Dad."

Sakura smiled and walked away from the room as Kabuto started to leave.

"Dad?"

He stopped and turned to see Yumi buried comfortably in her covers, her eyes closed.

"I love you."

Kabuto could only smiled as he turned off the bedroom light, "I love you too."

So sweet, ne? Well, that's the last part for Love Of A Cherry Blossom. The sequel will be out sometime soon. Hope you enjoyed it!


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